The Harroun Family Barn

The David and Clarissa Harroun family migrated to Sylvania in 1835 and built their home on this site, adding the barn in 1858. Four generations of the Harroun family lived on this property from 1835 to 1938. During that time, David, Clarissa, and their son Edwin aided fugitive slaves on the Underground Railroad to freedom in Canada. David secretly transported runaways from Maumee to Sylvania in his lumber wagons, hiding them under hay and driving at night to avoid detection. On the Harroun property, fugitives were concealed in the attic of the home or the barn's hayloft. The Lathrop family, who lived on a farm to the west, also helped by hiding fugitives in their basement. From Sylvania, the runaways were taken to Bedford, Petersburg, or Monroe in Michigan and then transported toward Detroit for the crossing into Canada.

Sylvania, Ohio · United States