According to Graff and Johnston family descendants, Lewis Johnston and John Graff used the basement of this building to conceal freedom-seeking enslaved men, women, and children. The building originally had a rear-facing courtyard facing Sugar Alley, and a tunnel once connected Blairsville's livery stable near the intersection of Sugar Alley and N. Spring Street to the building's lower level. Samuel McCune operated his dry goods store here in the 1850s. This area was reportedly used when John Graff's carriage house was full. There is no record of McCune operating as an Underground Railroad agent, and there is no certainty that the tunnel was constructed primarily as a means to hide freedom seekers.