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| Exploring Indiana's Historic Sites, Markers & MuseumsSouth East Edition |
Residents of Dearborn County, Indiana became active in the Underground Railroad quite early. The East Fork Methodist Protestant Church in the Guilford area formed an antislavery group as early as 1834. There were many county residents involved in aiding escaped slaves on their road north to freedom. Many of the slaves during the 1850 - 1854 period were helped by a former slave blacksmith named Elijah Anderson who claimed to have helped over 1000 slaves escape. From Aurora and Lawrenceburg many of the slaves were spirited along the route now occupied by Indiana State Road 350 to Old Milan. The Old Milan Road, which was formerly called the Aurora Road, took the escaping slaves to points in Ripley County.
Other slaves were taken by night along the railroad tracks because the trains did not run at night. The current CSX railroad from Lawrenceburg to Osgood, Indiana was used for this.
For more information about the Underground Railroad in Indiana, visit this Indiana Historical Bureau link.
[…] Dearborn County Underground Railroad […]
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