Underground Railroad

The Underground Railroad was an informal and secret network of meeting points, transportation routes, and safe houses coordinated by abolitionists who opposed slavery and helped enslaved people escape to free states and Canada. It existed throughout the early 1800s and reached its peak in the 1840s-1850s. Illinois was considered a free state, and Chicago was a major gateway to freedom in the North, although slavery was still practiced in the southern part of the state. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 required people to help capture and return runaway slaves, making it illegal and dangerous to hide and assist them; abolitionists could face heavy fines and jail time if discovered. Because those involved kept their activities secret, it is often difficult to identify the people and places connected to this network. The Blodgetts were reportedly active in these efforts in Massachusetts and continued them after moving to Illinois, where runaway slaves likely hid in the 1846 house or on the surrounding Blodgett property and outbuildings.

Downers Grove, Illinois · United States