UNDERGROUND RAILROAD Trumbull Co. had significant role

Many stations where slaves sought shelter are found throughout the county.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
CHAMPION -- Trumbull County has one of the highest number of miles of Underground Railroad routes in the country, a Warren researcher says.
Rueben Blake, a researcher for the Friends of Freedom, which works with the Ohio Underground Railroad Association, spoke to students in an American literature class Wednesday at Trumbull County Career and Technical Center.
"There's 153 miles of trails and 53 sites, called stations, in Trumbull County," Blake said.
Between 50,000 and 60,000 slaves traveled along what is now state Route 45 from Wellsville to Ashtabula.
What it was
The Underground Railroad operated from 1820 through 1865. It was a network of former slaves and abolitionists who provided shelter and food to slaves traveling to freedom in Canada.
Fugitive slaves slept during the day and traveled at night using the North Star and the Big Dipper, which they called the Drinking Gourd, as their guides.
A member of the Underground Railroad, called a conductor, helped the slaves in their journey.
Many slaves headed for Canada for fear of being captured, returned to their owners and punished severely for trying to flee.
There are houses and other sites in Brookfield, Hartford, Vernon, Kinsman, Gustavus, Newton Falls and other parts of the county that were stations along the route to freedom.
The Kinsman House on Mahoning Avenue is the only remaining structure in Warren that was a station. The others have been torn down, Blake said.
First Presbyterian Church in downtown Warren sits at the location of another former station, he said.
Blake said he's been doing research for the Friends of Freedom for about seven years and has learned much from word of mouth, diaries and records.
"We're trying to educate people about the Underground Railroad because much of what we've heard is more or less romanticized," Blake said.
"There are no facts. They didn't write it down because it was illegal at that time."