Jamison's Eastern Inn

Jamison’s Eastern Inn

This inn, now a store and apartment building on the corner of north 4^th and Philadelphia street, is where slave catchers, abolitionists, and fugitive slaves at various times stayed throughout the history of the Underground Railroad, dating to the pre-Civil War era of the middle 1800’s.  The inn was owned by John Jamison, the father of young abolitionist Samuel Jamison, who in 1848 hid two fugitive slaves near the old Caldwell farm, which sat on top of a hill facing Indiana.   According to some accounts, he was offered a substantial bribe from two slave catchers staying at his father’s inn, to reveal the location of the two runaway slaves.  Jamison refused the bribe— instead; he collaborated with Sheriff Taylor to find refuge for them at another location more distant from Indiana.  Eventually, this led the slaves to more secure freedom in Canada. 

Indiana House

Indiana House

This is perhaps one of the most infamous spots of Underground Railroad history, and it is here that a mob formed to prevent the slave-catcher David Ralston from capturing Anthony Hollingsworth, who was detained overnight at the hotel and freed by Judge Thomas White the next day, on the grounds that there was no constitutional evidence for the legality of slavery in Virginia—the state where Hollingsworth had left.  
The Indiana House was lost to a fire years later, and is now the building housing Fox’s Pizza.

Former Indiana House

William and Elizabeth Houston House

William and Elizabeth Houston House

Elizabeth Houston (born 1795-died ?) was a prominent figure within the Underground Railroad movement for aiding escaped slaves by providing food, clothing, and shelter.  According to Catalfamo and others, she “supplied the railroad in secret to keep her husband out of trouble,” in order to keep him from violating fugitive slave laws.  The space now appears to be a series of small apartments.

Dr. Robert Mitchell

Portrait of Robert Mitchell, 

Courtesy of:

Indiana County Genealogical and Historical Society

Dr. Robert Mitchell House

Another site significant to the Underground Railroad Movement was the residence of Dr. Robert Mitchell, one of the most notable abolitionists and Underground Railroad conductors of western Pennsylvania in the pre-Civil War era of the 1840s and 1850s.  He is described by many historians on the Underground Railroad, and is mentioned in both Switala’s Underground Railroad in Pennsylvania book and in the earlier Stephenson history of Indiana County, with its detailed analysis of the Underground Railroad. His prominence in Indiana County extends beyond his abolitionist work, and he was also a Pennsylvania House of Representatives member and an Associate Judge. When the Fugitive Slave Law was passed in 1850, Mitchell was fined $10,000 in Federal Court for his violation of these laws.  This site is located on Philadelphia Street, in a building which primarily houses apartments. It is as unassuming as the Ralston House, but it is inspiring to think that this was once the home of a man who believed that “every yoke should be broken and the oppressed should be free”.  

Memorial Park

 Memorial Park PHMC Marker       

Memorial Park

The next destination is Memorial Park, which would follow one of many known routes which travelers took on the Underground Railroad seeking freedom.  According to the PHMC marker, it was once an overgrown Lutheran cemetery where slaves could easily hide while they were traveling north during the Civil War.  Currently, the park is used for both memorializing veterans and as a place for community activities.  Moreover, it is difficult to envision the park as it once was—as an overgrown wilderness where Underground Railroad travelers could find safe haven.  

David Ralston House

David Ralston House

The Ralston House on 41 South 6^th Street is a rather unassuming building, and was difficult to spot initially.  It is now partially an insurance company, while the rest of the building appears to be an apartment complex. It is interesting to think about how this place was once the residence of a notorious pro-slavery man, who would eventually be stopped by a mob of Indiana citizens and Judge Thomas White from detaining fugitive slave Anthony Hollingsworth.