This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!
Iowa Underground Railroad Routes and Notable Stops
Curated history recalls three Iowa paths to freedom via stations from Lewelling House in Salem to John Todd House in Tabor. It highlights John Brown’s Freedom Trail, concealed routes, and the 1793 1850 fugitive slave acts that shaped risk for seekers and helpers. Charlotta Gordon Pyles’ notable escape and later court victory are detailed.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Iowa
Iowa State Historical Society
Leo Landis
Congregational Church
John Brown
Jordan
West Des Moines
Hitchcock
Lewis
John Todd
Tabor
Holmgren
Frederick Douglass
Susan B. Anthony
Landis
State Historical Society
Sojourner Truth
Douglass
Pyles
Canada
Charlotta
Iowa Supreme Court
Keokuk
Brown v. Board of Education
Supreme Court
Harry Pyles
Frances Gordon