<p>The Underground Railroad in Iowa</p><p>John Brown Freedom Trail 1859 - Stop Number One: Blanchard House</p><p>Iowa Freedom Trail Project</p><p>On February 4,
1859, abolitionist John Brown and a group of escaped slaves crossed the
Missouri River at Nebraska City and made their way to the former settlement of
Civil Bend in Fremont County.<br></p>

<p>At Civil Bend,
the group stayed at the home of Dr. Ira Blanchard. The Blanchard
House was a stop on the Underground Railroad and Brown often found shelter
there during his trips to and from Kansas helping escaped slaves to freedom. </p>

<p>He and his
group took refuge there for the night, after laying low in southeast Kansas for
several days. Brown's final journey across Iowa had begun. </p>

<p>Today, the only
physical reminder of this stop on the Underground Railroad are historic markers at&nbsp;the Blanchard Cemetery, which stood adjacent to the Blanchard Home.&nbsp;</p><p>Next Stop: Tabor, Iowa</p>

More Info

National Park Service
Aboard the Underground Railroad

The Underground Railroad in Iowa
John Brown Freedom Trail 1859 - Stop Number One
Iowa Freedom Trail Project

Civil Bend

The Underground Railroad in Iowa
John Brown Freedom Trail 1859
Iowa Freedom Trail Project

This tour guides you across Iowa on the Underground Railroad.

<p>The Underground Railroad in Iowa</p><p>John Brown Freedom Trail 1859 -&nbsp;Stop Number
Two: Tabor, Iowa</p><p>Iowa Freedom Trail Project</p>

<p>After
overnighting at the Blanchard House in Civil Bend, John Brown and his group
traveled to Tabor, Iowa – arriving on February 5, 1859. Tabor was an
anti-slavery stronghold and a stop on the Underground Railroad. It was known as
a staging area for Kansas-bound Free Soil settlers and the Reverend John Todd
House (pictured) was used as a place to store arms and provisions during the
Bleeding Kansas conflict. </p>

<p>Brown had spent
a good deal of time in Tabor prior to 1859. This time, Brown received a cool
welcome when he arrived in Tabor. Local residents were displeased with Brown
and his recent actions. He had gone beyond his regular actions of assisting
freedom seekers and had begun to actively free slaves and kill slave owners.
Because of this cold reception, the Brown entourage only stayed at Tabor a
week.&nbsp;</p><p>Next Stop: &nbsp;Malvern, Iowa</p>

The Underground Railroad in Iowa
John Brown Freedom Trail  1859 - Stop Number Two 
Iowa Freedom Trail Project


Reverend John Todd House

<div>The Underground Railroad in Iowa</div><div>John Brown Freedom Trail 1859 Stop Number Three: Malvern, Iowa</div><div>Iowa Freedom Trail Project<br><br>After spending a week in Tabor, Iowa, on February 12, 1859, the John Brown party travelled to the Charles and Sylvia Tolles Cabin, in rural Mills County, 1.5 miles northwest of present day Malvern, Iowa.&nbsp;<br></div><div>Tolles was born in February 1823 and sought adventure on the western frontier. Tolles arrived in Mills County, Iowa, in 1846 and became active in the Underground Railroad due to his previous association with Ira Blanchard.&nbsp;</div><div>The three wagon caravan left early the next morning, February 13, and headed northeasterly towards Lewis, Iowa, in a bad snow storm.&nbsp;</div><div>Years later, Tolles recollected about Brown: “I did not see a savage but a determined countenance, an eye that looked straight down in to your very soul.”&nbsp;</div><div>For more information about Charles Tolles’ colorful life, check out this account published in the Annals of Iowa in Spring 1925.&nbsp;</div><div>Next Stop: Lewis Iowa</div>

The Underground Railroad in Iowa
John Brown Freedom Trail 1859 Stop Number Three
Iowa Freedom Trail Project

Charles and Sylvia Tolles Cabin

Born in
Massachusetts in 1812, Hitchcock became a student of ministry, and in 1844 was ordained a
minister in the Congregational Church.  He worked as a traveling "circuit" preacher in the frontier
country of western Iowa following his ordination.  Settling in Lewis in the mid-1850s, Hitchcock
built a log cabin where he lived until the completion of his stone house around 1856. It was this house that Hitchcock used to aid the Underground Railroad. <br><br>  In 1865, Hitchcock was called by the Congregationalist Church to
work in Missouri, where he was given the opportunity to educate and minister freed Blacks.  Two
years later he moved to Kansas to carry similar duties in that frontier area.   His home in
Iowa stands as a testament to his role in the antislavery movement and his involvement in the
Underground Railroad.
<br><br><div>The Underground Railroad in Iowa&nbsp;</div><div>John Brown Freedom Trail 1859 Stop Number Four: Lewis, Iowa</div>Iowa Freedom Trail Project<br><br>The Hitchcock House, along with the farm of Oliver Mills&nbsp;was stop number four on The John Brown Freedom Trail.&nbsp;
















<p>The
John Brown entourage left the Tolles Cabin and headed northeast in to a snow
storm on February 13, 1859. They travelled toward Lewis, Iowa, and the farm of
Brown’s cousin Oliver Mills. </p>

<p>Mills
lived just south of Lewis, then the county seat of Cass County. Reverend George
B. Hitchcock, a Congregationalist, resided about a mile due west of the Mills
place (see map). Mills and Hitchcock worked together in the antislavery
movement. The Hitchcock House (pictured) is a National Historic Landmark and
one of the few physical reminders of the Underground Railroad remaining in the
state.&nbsp;</p><p>Next Stop: Grove City, Iowa.</p>

<p>Oliver
Mills was born in Trumbull County, Ohio in 1821. At 29, he removed to Iowa and
by 1857 he had settled near Lewis. After his involvement with the Underground
Railroad, Mills continued to be active in civic life. He was elected to the
Iowa General Assembly in 1872 and served twenty years with the state agricultural
society. Notably, he promoted the establishment of the state agricultural
college, now Iowa State University.&nbsp;</p>

Minister George B. Hitchcock built this house around 1855 and resided here from 1856 to 1865. Hitchcock is best-known today for his opposition to slavery and his participation in the Underground Railroad, providing sanctuary for slaves who were trying to reach Canada or at least escape far from Missouri and other slave states.

Reverend George B. Hitchcock House, Underground Railroad in Iowa 

<div>The Underground Railroad in Iowa</div><div>John Brown Freedom Trail 1859 - Stop Number Five: Grove City Iowa</div><div>Iowa Freedom Trail Project<br><br>
















<p>John Brown,
with twelve men, women, and children escaping slavery from Missouri, plus ten
of his own men, stopped near Grove City in Atlantic Township in Cass County on
February 14, 1859. They stayed at the Grove City House, operated by David A.
Barnett. Barnett, a large farm owner, local town promoter, and husband of Grove
City’s postmistress, worked with Oliver Mills and Rev.
George Hitchcock of nearby Lewis to assist those escaping slavery. Brown’s
party rested overnight at Grove City on their three month trek toward freedom. </p>

<p>The
then new, but now bygone, town of Grove City briefly boomed in hopes of
becoming the county seat with the railroad’s arrival. Unfortunately, the
railroad tracks skirted the edge of Grove City and the train barreled by the
settlement at full speed on the way to Atlantic, Iowa. Grove City, the size of
a quarter-section of land and a 24 block town (see historic maps) dried up and
is now denoted only by a historic marker.</p><p>Next Stop: Dalmanutha, Iowa&nbsp;</p>

</div>

The Underground Railroad in Iowa
John Brown Freedom Trail 1859 - Stop Number Five
Iowa Freedom Trail Project

Grove City House

<p>The Underground Railroad in Iowa</p><p>John Brown Freedom Trail 1859 - Stop Number Six: Dalmanutha, Iowa</p><p>Iowa Freedom Project</p><p><br /></p><p>On February 15, 1859, the John Brown party stopped at Dalmanutha, a settlement on the Middle River. They stopped at the tavern hotel, operated by John Porter, a 49 year old farmer and hotel operator. At that time, Dalmanutha was still a hamlet, with only ten dwellings. The Brown entourage stayed only one night before continuing eastward.</p><p>Dalmanutha was laid out in 1855 in Thompson Township in southern Guthrie County. The Western Stage Company was operating stage coaches between Des Moines and Council Bluffs that stopped at Dalmanutha. The community supported a post office from 1863 to 1875. It is now a ghost town approximately five miles northwest of Casey, marked by only a few buildings, historic markers and the Dalmanutha Cemetery. Porter, the abolitionist, is buried at the western edge of the cemetery.</p><p>Next Stop: Redfield, Iowa</p>

The Underground Railroad in Iowa
John Brown Freedom Trail 1859 - Stop Number Six
Iowa Freedom Project

Dalmanutha

<div>The Underground Railroad in Iowa</div><div>John Brown Freedom Trail 1859 - Stop Number Seven: Jonathan M. Murray Farm near Redfield, Iowa<br></div><div>Iowa Freedom Trail Project<br><br>On February 16,
1859 the John Brown entourage stopped near Redfield, Iowa, at the farm of
Jonathan M. Murray. The three-wagon caravan traveled approximately 25 miles
that day. They rested overnight at Murray’s place before continuing on.<br></div>


















<p>Murray, a
fifty-five year old abolitionist from Maine, lived just over a mile east of the
eventual town of Redfield on the road to Adel. Murray's
grave is located at the Redfield Cemetery. </p>

<p>The
Murray farm is private property. The Freedom Trail marker about the farm is
located at the Redfield Depot.&nbsp;</p><p>Next Stop: West Des Moines, Iowa</p>

The Underground Railroad in Iowa
John Brown Freedom Trail 1859 - Stop Number Seven
Iowa Freedom Trail Project

Jonathan M. Murray Farm

<p>James Jordan was born in West Virginia in 1813 and his experience there solidified his abolitionist beliefs. He moved westward and lived in Michigan and Missouri where he learned the cattle business trade. By the time he reached Iowa in the mid-1840s he was a successful cattle rancher. Among his accomplishments in Central Iowa was establishing the State Bank of Iowa and played an important role in bringing railroads to the city. He also served in the state Senate and House of Representatives. As for his role in the Underground Railroad, he would become known as the "chief conductor" of Polk County.</p><p></p><p>On February 17, 1859 John Brown’s group, made up of 12 liberated formerly enslaved individuals and Brown’s 10 men (all heavily armed) arrived at the farm of James C. Jordan and rested overnight in the timber. October 1869, Brown and followers raided the Federal Arsenal in Harper's Ferry, Virginia, in an unsuccessful attempt to arm a rebellion by the enslaved people. </p><p></p><p>Jordan was born a southerner, but turned against slavery as a young man in Virginia after helping chase down fleeing slaves from a neighboring plantation. In 1846, James Jordan migrated to Iowa and settled in Walnut Township, along with his wife and children. Jordan was a successful businessman, farmer and banker. He also served in the Iowa Legislature and led the charge to move Iowa’s State Capitol from Iowa City to Des Moines. He platted Valley Junction and established a railhead. In 1938 the community became West Des Moines.</p><p></p><p>James Jordan died in 1893 and is buried at the Jordan Cemetery. </p><p></p><p>The house remained in the Jordan family until 1947 when it was sold to the Church of Nazarene and became part of the church's summer camp. In 1978, the West Des Moines Historical Society bought and renovated the house and opened it as a museum soon after.</p>

<p>The Jordan House was the home of businessman, civic leader, and philanthropist James Jordan. Built in the 1850s and expanded in 1870, the home features Italian, Gothic, and Classical motifs. Jordan played an integral in Des Moines' economic development and he was also a staunch abolitionist. The house served as a key stop in the Underground Railroad and fellow abolitionist John Brown stayed there at least on two occasions. In 1973, the Jordan House was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The West Des Moines Historical Society manages the house as well as another nearby historic structure, the Bennett School.</p>

Jordan House

<div>The Underground Railroad in Iowa</div><div>John Brown Freedom Trail 1859 - Stop Number Nine: Runnels, Iowa</div><div>Iowa Freedom Trail Project<br><br>

<p>After resting
overnight the John Brown party continued eastward across Polk County. On
February 18, 1859, the group arrived at Brian Hawley's farm, near present day
Runnells. They stayed there one night before continuing the journey to freedom.
</p>

<p>Hawley was a 49
year old saw mill owner and carpenter. He lived just west of Yellow Banks Park,
a Polk County Conservation site.</p><p>Next Stop: Near Grinnell Iowa&nbsp;</p>

</div>

The Underground Railroad in Iowa
John Brown Freedom Trail 1859 - Stop Number Nine
Iowa Freedom Trail Project

Brian Hawley Farm

<p>The Underground Railroad in Iowa</p><p>John Brown Freedom Trail 1859 - Stop Number Ten: Near Grinnell, Iowa</p><p>Iowa Freedom Trail Project</p><p>On February 19, 1859, John Brown’s group stopped at the Cornwall Dickinson Farm on the far eastern edge of Jasper County (see map). The Dickinson Farm was located at the site of the Interstate Highway 80 Eastbound Mile Post 181 Rest Area.</p><p>With mild winter weather, John Brown and his entourage stayed only one night at the Dickinson's before continuing on to Grinnell.</p><p>Dickinson was a 45 year old farmer, originally from Ashtabula County, Ohio – an antislavery stronghold. He and his wife Rebecca had six children. Based on research at the State Historical Society of Iowa Research Center, we know that Dickinson purchased two parcels of land in Poweshiek County and moved his family there in 1864. </p><p><br /></p><p>Next Stop: Grinnell, Iowa</p>

The Underground Railroad in Iowa
John Brown Freedom Trail 1859 - Stop Number Ten
Iowa Freedom Trail Project

Cornwall Dickinson Farm

<div>Favored by mild
winter weather, John Brown &amp; his crew continued east to Grinnell, Iowa, on
February 20, 1859. They stayed two days, and Brown developed his plan to attack
the US Arsenal at Harpers Ferry during his time with town founder Josiah B.
Grinnell (see photo). Grinnell was a Vermont native, a Congregationalist
minister and part of the strong anti-slavery movement in
town. Grinnellians gave John Brown $25 and provisions for several days.<br></div><div>

<p>Grinnell
later served in the Iowa Senate and US House of Representatives (where he was
physically assaulted by Congressman Lovell Rosseau for insulting his home state
of Kentucky). He was a benefactor for Grinnell College and later become the
Director of the Rock Island Railroad. Grinnell passed away in 1891 and is
buried at Hazelwood Cemetery in Grinnell.</p>

</div>

Minister and abolitionist Josiah B. Grinnell founded the city that now bears his name. His home was originally located here, just across from Grinnell's Central Park. Reverend Grinnell assisted enslaved persons by allowing them to stay in his cellar and providing food and supplies. The community soon earned a reputation as home to abolitionists and others who opposed slavery and were willing to assist and defend formerly enslaved persons as they traveled from the South to Canada or other places where they might be in less danger from slave catchers. Grinnell's home was located here until 1914, when part of the home was moved to this location on Broad Street. The home was not well-preserved and the structure was demolished in 1984. 

The Josiah Grinnell House

<div>Iowa and the Underground Railroad</div><div>John Brown Freedom Trail 1859 - Stop Number Twelve: Near Marengo Iowa</div><div>Iowa Freedom Trail Project</div><div>
















<p>On February 20,
1859 John Brown’s group, made up of 12 escaped slaves and Brown’s 10 men
overnighted at the Draper B. Reynolds Farm 1.5 miles south of Marengo, Iowa. </p>

<p>By the time
they arrived in Marengo, the Brown entourage had been travelling for nearly two
months. After rescuing slaves in southwest Missouri, they moved north through
Kansas and Nebraska and arrived in Iowa on February
4. </p>

<p>Draper,
a Pennsylvania native, homesteaded south of Marengo in 1855 (see map). He was
49 years old when he sheltered Brown’s entourage of abolitionists and freedom
seekers. Draper passed away in 1875 at the age of 68 is buried at the Old
Marengo Cemetery. </p>

<p>A
marker in Marengo City Park is the closest publicly accessible place to where
John Brown stayed at the Reynolds Farm.</p><p>Next Stop: Iowa City, Iowa&nbsp;</p>

</div>

Iowa and the Underground Railroad
John Brown Freedom Trail 1859 - Stop Number Twelve
Iowa Freedom Trail Project


Draper B. Reynolds Farm

<div>On February 24,
1859, John Brown passed through Iowa City with several former enslaved persons and abolitionists on their way to Springdale, Iowa. At the time, abolitionists were persecuted and Iowa City was divided over the issue of the growing political divide related to the extension of slavery.<br></div><div>

<p>Brown and a companion held a covert meeting in Iowa City with local abolitionists Dr. Jesse Bowen and
William Penn Clark. Brown was seeking railroad car arrangements to move his group
further east. Word got out about Brown being in town and soon others were on
the lookout for this so-called anti-slavery “fanatic.” Dr. Bowen harbored Brown
at his house on 914 Iowa Avenue until, during early hours of the morning, Cololnel S. C. Trowbridge guided them out of town via back roads. </p>

<p>Dr.
Jesse Bowen, a pioneer physician, early editor of a temperance newspaper and
later a state senator, actively opposed slavery and befriended those who took
direct action against it. He took delivery of revolvers from Massachusetts
shipped to Brown in care of Jesse Bowen. In March 1859, Brown also entrusted
Bowen with disposing of arms remaining in Tabor. </p>

<p>W.
Penn Clarke, an active member of the Kansas national committee for Iowa, a
prominent man in Republican party circles, and an energetic successful lawyer,
applied his intensely partisan views to aiding men such as John Brown in
Underground Railroad efforts. </p><p><br></p><p>Next Stop: Springdale, Iowa&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<br></div>

This was the location of the home of Jesse Bowen, an influential physician and an outspoken opponent of slavery. Bowen was a leading member of the Whig Party in Indiana and came to Iowa in 1840. Bowen remained active in politics and was part of the vanguard who created the Republican Party in opposition to the disproportionate power of Southern planters and the extension of slavery in the West. Prior to the Civil War, Bowen served in the Iowa Senate and was appointed Adjutant General. At the age of 60, Bowen resigned his public office to serve as a civilian employee of the Union Army. Bowen was also a strong supporter of John Brown and met with Brown and his supporters clandestinely at this home while he was in Iowa City meeting with fellow anti-slavery men. Bowen's home was not preserved and the location is now home to a wood frame home that is private property. 

Former Home of Dr. Jesse Bowen (John Brown in Iowa City)

<p>The Underground Railroad and Iowa</p><p>John Brown Freedom Trail 1859 - Stop Number Fourteen: Springdale Iowa</p><p>Iowa Freedom Trail Project</p><p>After sneaking
through Iowa City, the John Brown entourage arrived in Springdale on February
25, 1859. Springdale was a Quaker hamlet established in 1854 and Brown and his
men had spent the previous winter there, staying with William Maxon and
conducting military drill. This time, the group would stay in Springdale for two
weeks before boarding trains to Chicago.<br></p>

<p>After Brown’s raid in Missouri was published in newspapers a
reward was offered for his capture. This concerned residents of Springdale and
the posted sentries in case a mob from Iowa City might try to intercept him at
Springdale. </p>

<p>Two
men from Springdale, brothers Barclay and Edwin Coppoc, joined Brown’s force.
They continued with Brown until the failed raid on the US Federal Arsenal at
Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. Edwin was captured and hung after the attack, while
Barclay escaped. He went on to serve as a Lieutenant in the US Army and died in
a train crash over the Platte River in 1861. </p>

<p>A
historic marker is located at Springdale Friends Cemetery, a nearby publicly
accessible site near the location of the former Maxon home (see photo).&nbsp;</p><p>Next Stop: West Liberty</p>

The Underground Railroad and Iowa
John Brown Freedom Trail 1859 - Stop Number Fourteen
Iowa Freedom Trail Project

William Maxon House

<div>The Underground Railroad in Iowa</div><div>John Brown Freedom Trail 1859 - Stop Number Fifteen: West Liberty, Iowa</div><div>Iowa Freedom Trail Project<br><br>On the evening
of March 9, 1859, John Brown, with twelve men, women, and children that had
escaped slavery from three southwest Missouri farms, plus his own men, arrived
in West Liberty. The party had spent the last two weeks at Springdale, awaiting
rail transportation arrangements.</div>


















<p>Upon arriving
at their West Liberty rail connection, Brown’s group stayed overnight at nearby
Keith’s Mill. An engineer operating the first
morning’s eastbound train from Iowa City dropped off an empty box-car near the
mill. Soon—as friendly residents looked on—the liberated slaves boarded the
boxcar. The train left West Liberty the next morning. It was bound for Chicago,
with the boxcar placed between the engine and express car </p>

<p>&nbsp;Next Stop: Davenport Iowa and the Mississippi River</p>

The Underground Railroad in Iowa
John Brown Freedom Trail 1859 - Stop Number Fifteen
Iowa Freedom Trail Project

Keith's Mill

<div>The Underground Railroad in Iowa</div><div>John Brown Freedom Trail 1859 - Stop Number Sixteen: Davenport, Iowa</div><div>Iowa Freedom Trail Project<br><br>On the
afternoon of March 10, 1859, John Brown (see photo) and his entourage passed
through Davenport in the empty box car they had boarded that morning. They
crossed a five year old railroad bridge (see photo) on a train bound for
Chicago.<br></div>


















<p>Crossing the
Mississippi River at Davenport was the final stop on Brown's Iowa Freedom
Trail. Within two days, the group would pass through Chicago and Detroit, where the escaped slaves would take a ferry
to freedom in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Only seven months later, Brown and his
men would attempt to seize the Federal Armory and Arsenal at Harpers Ferry,
Virginia (now West Virginia). Nine months later, Brown would be dead - hung for
treason. </p>

<p><b>A
historic marker is located along the Sea Wall at Davenport and marks the end of
the Iowa Freedom Trail.&nbsp;</b></p>

The Underground Railroad in Iowa
John Brown Freedom Trail 1859 - Stop Number Sixteen
Iowa Freedom Trail Project

John Brown Freedom Trail 1859 through Iowa

Civil Bend

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information