I’m sure many of us are familiar with learning about U.S. history back in high school, but not many of us have an opportunity to actually go out and experience these lessons in the first person. Well, that’s not the case for those living in Cass County, Michigan. Visitors can discover a perspective that they likely never learned in their history books about what it was like to seek freedom on the underground railroad. I’m going to transport you back to when this part of the world was called Young’s Praire, and when people of color had to flee for their freedom before the Civil War. Let’s take a look at the history that put Cass County on the map, and how you can discover this history for yourself.
The Underground Railroad had stops throughout the state of Michigan.
I first learned about the history of Cass County when I still worked as a reporter in Southwest Michigan. I created two feature stories with the Underground Railroad Society of Cass County to not only tell the story of what they’ve learned, but to also see the numerous historical sites they’ve preserved. This was one of the first stops many freedom seekers could find once crossing the border into Michigan. While many of them decided to settle in what was then known as Young’s Prairie, many others continued their journey east to Canada, making stops at several other stations on the way to avoid detection from slave catchers.
It’s safe to say race relations in America were not very progressive in the years leading up to the Civil War. However, there were some communities that demonstrated a level of tolerance and non-violence that was far ahead of their time. This is true of the Quakers who lived in Young’s Prairie, whom also turned out to be staunch abolitionists. These white settlers not only served as stationmasters on the Underground Railroad, but they also helped support free black settlers acquire land, employment, and resources for those who stayed in Cass County. Much of this history is contained in the Bonine House, where a Quaker, James Bonine, lived.
This pivotal point in the area’s history came when slave catchers from Kentucky raided Young’s Prairie in search of what they claimed to be their property in 1847. This prompted a response from white settlers to band together with free black settlers to ward off the intruders. Numerous freedom seekers were captured but later freed after the Quakers took the slave catchers to court, one of the first court cases in U.S. history where a freedom seeker was allowed to testify against his former master. A mural in downtown Cassopolis memorializes this moment in the community’s history.
This is one of the sites that shows the level of tolerance that existed between white and black settlers even before the Civil War. During my coverage of these locations, I learned that this was one of the very first integrated schoolhouses in the state of Michigan, more than 100 years before the first federal laws enforced integration in public schools. The Friends of Brownsville School have been working to restore this schoolhouse to the way it looked when it was built in the 1840s.
This barn built right across the street from the Bonine House is where James Bonine would tell freedom seekers to stay to avoid being detected while on the underground railroad. Not only can visitors see where freedom seekers found shelter, but there are also several other artifacts that tell the story of what it was like as they traveled from station to station.
This house is where much of the story of the Kentucky Slave Raid of 1847 occurred. Those who visit can get a look at another hidden room where freedom seekers stayed. The story goes that Sarah Bogue used to use her loud sewing machine while slave catchers searched the home to cover up any sounds coming from upstairs.
There’s a lot to uncover in Cass County that you might not have learned in your history books in school. The Underground Railroad Society of Cass County deserves much of the credit for compiling articles, documents, and personal accounts that keep this history alive. The society offers tours Monday-Friday between June and September. Head to its website to schedule tours outside the peak months.
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