The Underground Railroad Passes Through Bedford County

The Underground Railroad was a name given to an informal system that helped enslaved persons escape from southern to northern states from the early 1800s until the passage of the Emancipation proclamation in 1863. Places where the fugitives or “passengers’ could find shelter and safety were called “stations” or “safe houses.” The person leading a group to freedom was a “conductor,” such as the well-known Harriett Tubman.

Residents in south-central Pennsylvania were in a difficult situation as a border state along the Mason-Dixon Line, with opinions divided as whether to support or oppose the s...