Kent and the Underground Railroad

The town of Franklin Mills, now Kent, was active in the Underground Railroad, and many residents aided fugitive slaves in their flight north toward Canada. In 1825, at their tavern on Mantua Street, Joshua and Rebecca Woodard gave shelter to a group of six fugitive slaves, including Mrs. Hurst and her infant. The fugitives left her baby with the Woodards while the Woodards’ son James took the other runaways to Cleveland by wagon, and the Woodards later adopted the child. John Brown, who raided Harpers Ferry in 1859, was a resident of Franklin Mills from 1854 to 1839. In 1836, Brown staged anti-slavery protests at the Franklin Congregational Church at the intersection of Lake Street, North Water Street, and Crain Avenue. Jonathan and Eliza James, who ran the Cuyahoga House on Mantua Street, were also active Underground Railroad agents. In the 1850’s, bounty hunters searched the tavern unsuccessfully, failing to find the secret hideaway in the barn wall where fugitive slaves hid. Others active in the Underground Railroad in Franklin Mills included Dr. Thomas Earl, Dr. Haymaker, Almund and Isaac Russell, and John Perkins.

Kent, Ohio · United States