Allen and Barbara (Kagy) Mayhew moved to Nebraska in 1854 and built this cabin in 1855. They had two sons when they arrived and had four more children there. In the winter of 1855-56, Barbara’s younger brother, John Henri Kagi, who preferred the Swiss spelling of his name, lived with the family. He later went to Kansas to promote the anti-slavery cause and eventually met John Brown. Kagi began helping freedom seekers escaping slavery as they headed north through Nebraska, using his sister’s place as a stopping point. This Underground Railroad route followed the Jim Lane Trail, which abolitionists used to travel into Kansas while bypassing Missouri. Other places in southeast Nebraska also participated, including Falls City and Nemaha, where many residents opposed slavery and aided freedom seekers. After reaching Nebraska City, escaping slaves crossed the Missouri River into the free state of Iowa on the way to Civil Bend and Tabor, Iowa.