Sugar Grove's Historic Role in the Underground Railroad
SUGAR GROVE AND THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD
(Source: Sugar Grove Historical Society)
Hello Again from the [Sugar Grove] Historical Society! ... This time of year it’s nice to remember the good in people and to be thankful for what we have.
Here is a story about Sugar Grove and the Underground Railroad.
It was around the 1840’s that the Kane County Anti-Slavery Association was organized. Many of the members resided in the Sugar Grove and Aurora townships. There were two routes that converged in Sugar Grove, and it was a secret among a local Sugar Grove family that they had an “active participant” right in their own home.
According to "Elgin: An American History" by E. C. Alft, "The Illinois tracks of the "Liberty Line" started at such river towns in Chester, Alton, and Quincy and led toward Chicago...The nearest main line ran from Princeton through Sugar Grove, Aurora and Hinsdale to the lake terminus."
They say the slaves that passed through the area were primarily from Missouri, although it is possible they traveled from the southern states along the Mississippi before reaching Missouri. Once they hit the Sugar Grove area, they would travel east on Prairie road which ended at that time at the farm of John Wagner, on South Lake Street in Aurora.
Some slaves were directed which trail to take to stay safe and would walk at night so they were undetected. Sometimes they were given rides in wagons that had hidden compartments.
Back then, there would often be a bounty on a slave of $1,000, making it a lucrative job to be a bounty hunter. It seemed to be that people who lived along the route here in the Sugar Grove area were aware of the slaves that were passing through during the night. Most Underground Railroad Station Masters felt the satisfaction of having helped slaves gain freedom far out-weighed the possibly of losing everything they possessed if they were caught.
(Source: Sugar Grove Historical Society.)
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THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD
(Source: “Sin-Qua-Sip Sugar Grove: A History of Sugar Grove Township, Kane County, Illinois” by Patsy Mighell Paxton)
The association of participants in the Underground Railroad was a well organized confederation in New England long before the arrival of the first settlers in Sugar Grove Township. While it was a secretive as any organization could possibly be, the members knew who the others were and they worked together in assisting those desperate slaves who had chosen to run rather than remain in bondage.
Most of the first settlers in Sugar Grove had roots in New England, so it was bound to follow that they would bring their abolitionist ideals with them to Illinois. As the area was settled in the 1830s and 40s, the Kane County Anti Slavery Association was organized, with many of those members residing in Sugar Grove and Aurora townships.
A map of the region showing the routes of the Underground Railroad exhibits two lines converging at Sugar Grove, before continuing on to Aurora. Form there the runaways followed the Underground Railroad through DuPage County to Chicago and eventually to Canada and freedom.
It was a closely guarded secret among Ezekiel Mighell’s family that he was an active participant in the Underground Railroad along with others on neighboring farms near Jericho, who worked closely together in hiding the runaway slaves and transporting them on east to Aurora. The local members of the Kane County Anti Slavery Association were Ira H. Fitch, Deacon Reuben Johnson, Ezekiel Mighell (in records, the name is misspelled as Mighels), Thomas Pierce, Dr. Root, Deacon Strong and John Wagner.
The fugitives who passed along the Sugar Grove route of the Underground Railroad were primarily from Missouri, although it is probable that they had traveled from the southern states along the Mississippi River before reaching Missouri. The tow route that converged at Sugar Grove came through Little Rock in Kendall County and fro Somanauk to the west.
It has been determined that when the “passengers” on the Railroad departed the Sugar Grove towship farms, they traveled east on Prairie Road which ended at that time at the farm of John Wagner, on South Lake Street in Aurora. Since the Sugar Grove members of the Anti Slavery Association lived in close proximity to each other, it can be assumed that the same Prairie Road route was use by all members living at Jericho.
The Wagner home was built on a slope which leveled as it reached the west bank of the Fox River, behind the Nicor buildings on South River Street. Into this bank, had been dug a dirt tunnel which led underground several feet into the cellar of the house. The runaways were held in this root cellar until arrangements were made to move them across the river and to their next “station” near Eola. One Station Master near Eola was Thompson Paxton, a native southerner and strong abolitionist. An organizational meeting was held in his cabin in the Big Woods no long after he settled there in 1834, and he remained an active participant until the demise of slavery.
Many times the runaways were directed to the trail or road they were to follow, and then they walked the distance to the next Station under the cover of darkness, while other times they were hidden in a farm wagon, often in a secret compartment beneath the bed of the wagon, and driven to their next destination. Whichever mode of transportation was used, they most certainly were filled with fear of being detected and returned to their owners in the south.
Depending upon weather or need for more advance communication with the next Station, the runaways were held anywhere from one day to several. At times health problems arose, which prevented the fugitives from traveling until they were able. While few women are named in any anti slavery directory, it is obvious the wives of the Station Masters were as involved as their husbands. It is they who would have prepared the food and provided an extra item of clothing if needed, as well as administered medication to those in need of the home remedies of the day.
Larger cities were most often where slave catchers hunted their prey, but that did not make the rural countryside of the area any safer for the fugitives. A bounty of $1,000 was not uncommon for a “prime” runaway slave, so a diligent bounty hunter could make a great deal of money hunting down and capturing them.
Often times people living along the rout were aware of the runaways passing silently by in the cover of darkness, but reporting such activity was rare among people in the area. Had these Underground Station Masters been found out and prosecuted according to the laws of the day, they stood to lose everything they possessed. With most, the satisfaction of having helped others gain freedom far out-weighed the consequences were they to be caught.
Out of necessity, no records were kept, other than the names of the local members of the Anti Slavery Society, so it is unknown how many runaways passed through the area under the cover of darkness, on their way to freedom.
(Source: “Sin-Qua-Sip Sugar Grove: A History of Sugar Grove Township, Kane County, Illinois” by Patsy Mighell Paxton)
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UPDATE
Rueben Bingham Johnson is reputed to have been a conductor on the Underground Railroad. He and his father Elisha were the earliest settlers at the "Jericho" section of Sugar Grove Township, having arrived from New York state in 1836 and 1838. Their property claims stretched over the intersection of Baseline and Mighell Roads, just south of Jericho Road.