Quaker abolitionists Isaac and Dinah Mendenhall harbored freedom seekers on the Underground Railroad in their nearby home, Oakdale. Originally members of Old Kennett Meeting, which became divided on the issue of slavery, they helped found Longwood Progressive Meeting in 1853. Dinah was a member of a committee that met with President Lincoln in 1862 to urge him to enact the Emancipation Proclamation. Both were firm supporters of women's voting rights.