Before and during the Civil War, Benjamin Walker, Abner Walker, Sr. and George Harbaugh worked closely with African American Underground Railroad conductors John Fiddler, Elisa Rouse and Joseph Crawley. Hundreds of fugitive slaves were led from the PA border through Bedford County via the Walker Homestead, across the mountain and north to freedom. Participation in the UGRR was dangerous, due to the proximity to the MD border.