The Underground Railroad was a path to freedom for slaves escaping bondage in the American South, aided by black and white men and women who served as conductors. For many freedom seekers, Madison was the first stop north of the Ohio River, and from there they moved along trails leading north through the hills of Southern Indiana. Although Madison was a northern city, it was not safe for escaping slaves or for those who helped them. Many African Americans settled there in a neighborhood called Georgetown, east of this location. In 1820, Madison had the third largest black population in Indiana, and as that population grew through the 1830s and 1840s, shops, churches, and homes lined Walnut Street in Georgetown. Underground Railroad conductors in the area included Elijah Anderson, William J. Anderson, George DeBaptiste, and Chapman Harris, who lived just outside town in Eagle Hollow. Elijah Anderson operated a blacksmith shop at Walnut and Third Streets, lived at 626 Walnut Street, and carried many slaves across the river until he was arrested in Kentucky and died mysteriously in jail in 1861. William J. Anderson built the African Methodist Episcopal Church at 309 East Fifth Street. That building is now owned by Historic Madison, Inc. and has been rehabilitated as a museum dedicated to the story of the Underground Railroad in Madison. Near Madison, in Lancaster, Historic Eleutherian College was founded in 1848 by antislavery advocates for the education of all races and genders. Its main building survives as a National Historic Landmark open to the public, and the nearby Lyman Hoyt house and visitor center are open as part of the Eleutherian College complex. Georgetown and Eleutherian College are officially designated as Underground Railroad sites by the Network to Freedom program of the National Park Service.