The Underground Railroad wasn't a railroad, and it wasn't underground. So what was it? It was a group of people in the United States who helped black people escape during the time of slavery.
The Quakers, also known as Friends, in Westfield helped hide slaves in their houses that had fake walls, hiding places in barns, attics and cellars.
We read several stories about slave hunters spending the night at an Anti-Slavery Quaker's house in Westfield, and the slaves they were looking for were hiding there, too. One man had a whole family of slaves hiding in his barn under the hay. While the slave hunters were in his house eating, he was taking one bucket of slop out to the hogs and one bucket of food to the slaves. The slaves escaped that night while the slave hunters were sleeping.
There were no maps, so the runaway slaves used the North Star as their guide.
The Underground Railroad used secret codes to let runaway slaves know when it was safe to travel. They would hang quilts out a window to give the runaway slaves secret directions. Ten quilt patterns were part of the code. Like, a quilt with a bear claw pattern would mean slaves were to follow fake bear tracks across the mountains. A quilt that showed a house with a smoking chimney told slaves it was a safe house. A quilt with a wagon-wheel pattern means that slaves should pack up everything that would fit in a wagon because it was time to go. By reading the symbols on the quilts, many slaves were able to reach freedom. The slave hunters never knew about the quilts and their codes. They also used secret knocks and passwords.
