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The Underground Railroad ran directly through Beaver County which was the center of considerable antislavery activity. The county was positioned along the Ohio River which led escaping slaves from Morgantown, West Virginia, and Cumberland, Maryland into Uniontown, Pennsylvania and finally through Beaver County. The activities of the Quakers of New Brighton, the origin of the Free Presbyterian movement and the work of Rev. Arthur B. Bradford were the other forces which invited fugitives.
Accordinc, to Bausman's History of Beaver County: "The Quakers of New Brighton were always the ring leaders of the (local) anti-slavery movement. In some mysterious way of communication, slaves from Kentucky, Maryland, Virginia and even Huntsville, Alabama knew that if they could reach the Quakers of New Brighton, they would be helped to freedom. There Edward Townsend with his ingenious trap-door to his cellar; Benjamin Townsend with his famous cave at Penn Avenue and Allegheny Road; David Townsend with his friendly island in the Beaver; Milo Talbot and Lewis Townsend, James Irvin, Timothy B. White, E. Ellwood and his wife, and many others, were untiring in their assistance to the poor fugitives. Among them Abby Kelly and Stephen Foster found a friendly home when they spoke at 'Shusters' or 'Abolition Hall' and Frederick Douglass also when he lectured at the Presbyterian Church. In 1848 with other prominent men they addressed a magnificent letter to Joshua Giddings, John P. Hale and John Dickey, the latter their representative in Congress, congratulating them on their splendid stand against slavery and assuring them of their support."
Jonathan Morris of New Brighton was a bold and tireless worker on the Underground Railroad. Morris' home, located on the Little Beaver Creek, frequently harbored runaways. He was a friend of the noted Philadelphia Quaker Isaac Hopper. He forwarded his passengers to a famous station in Salem, Ohio.
Beaver County citizens formed two active anti-slavery societies. On January 28, 1826 a society was formed at the Greersburg Academy (until 1830 Darlington was known as Greersburg). Between 1842 and 1845 the first Abolition Society was formed in Chippewa Township under the leadership of the prominent abolitionist William Scott.
The small Beaver County town of Achor near Salem, Ohio, was widely known as a key locale for Underground Railroad activities. On December 5, 1850 anti-slavery workers of New Brighton met and adopted resolutions against the Fugitive Slave Law. They declared the law was anti-Christian and vowed they would not respect it. The Covenanter Congregation of the Presbyterian Church in Beaver County was known in western Pennsylvania for its involvement in the Underground Railroad. Also, Geneva College in Beaver Falls was a suspected station when it was located in Northwood, Ohio. Hookstown, Bridgewater and Rochester had stations on the Underground route.
Siebert records the following operators in Beaver County: Rev. Abel Brown, Joshua Gilbert and a man named Rakestraw.