Recognized by many as one of the most active communities in southwestern Ohio, the Bloomingburg area was a significant link in the Underground Railroad, with as many as twelve to sixteen escaped slaves said to have been passed through the area at one time. The Bloomingburg Presbyterian Church was the center for this activity in coordination with the Fayette County Anti-Slavery Society. The church, led by Rev. William Dickey and Col. James Stewart, both staunch abolitionists, was organized on November 22, 1817, and the current church, built in 1847, still stands along with several other structures used as stations on the Underground Railroad. The Fullertons, Dickeys, Usticks, Steeles, Edwardses, Stewarts, Alexanders, and Gillespies served as station keepers and operators. The Fayette County Anti-Slavery Society was organized in Bloomingburg on May 27, 1835, with 52 members, and Col. James Stewart at one time served as one of the vice-presidents of the Ohio Anti-Slavery Society. The success of the area's abolitionist movement was also aided by the African American community in Bloomingburg, composed of many ex-slaves and free blacks who served as conductors on the Underground Railroad. Littlebury Stewart registered his free papers in 1835, making his family one of the first free families of color in Fayette County. Joseph Stillgess was an African American conductor who said, “I would take the fugitives (slaves) in a spring wagon to the house (William Ustick)… This sort of thing went on all the time when I was there at Bloomingburg.” Bloomingburg is located on the east fork of Paint Creek, a key route followed by fugitive slaves, and in the Paint Valley area many stops included Chillicothe, Frankfort, Good Hope, Greenfield, Roxabel, South Salem, and Washington Court House; without the assistance of these important links, the Bloomingburg area network would not have been possible.