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Roger Smalley details Medina County's role in the Underground Railroad
Summary
Roger Smalley, representing the Engine House Museum and Main Street Medina, presented documented research identifying 25 confirmed stations across Medina County and described local routes, stationmasters and hiding places used to shelter people escaping slavery during the 19th century.
Roger Smalley, a representative of the Engine House Museum and Main Street Medina, told an afternoon audience that researchers have confirmed 25 Underground Railroad stations in Medina County and described how local families concealed escaping enslaved people and moved them north toward Lake Erie and Canada. "We have 25 stations that were confirmed here in Medina County," Smalley said during the program, which assembled county research and historical sources.
Smalley framed the county's activity in wider context, noting Ohio's geographic importance as a conduit to Lake Erie and Canada. He reviewed the legal risks stationmasters faced after the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, saying the law initially carried penalties of six…
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