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Quilting African American Experiences in Northeast Ohio: LCCC Students' Digital Humanities Project for African American Literature

Reflective Garden of Station 100 on the Underground Railroad

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The Burrell Homestead: The Final Stop on the Underground Railroad Introduction

During the Civil War many Ohio abolitionists were active in helping self-emancipated slaves achieve freedom on the Underground Railroad. Unlike the previous abolitionists who advocated for gradual emancipation laws, which were designed to gradually grant freedom to a small percentage of the enslaved, these new abolitionists believed in immediately granting freedom to all the enslaved. William Lloyd Garrison was one of the many abolitionists to embrace the ideal of granting immediate freedom and equal rights to slaves (Ohio History Connection.org). Other abolitionists did not fully agree with Garrison’s ideals, but still believed that slavery was inhumane. During this time there was a fear that if all the slaves were free they would migrate to northern states like Ohio and take jobs away from white workers. During this time the Constitution and the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 permitted runaway slaves to be returned to their owners regardless of what state they were in. However, despite these obstacles abolitionists still firmly believed that slavery contradicted the ideals of the Declaration of Independence and advocated for social justice. (Lorain Public Library.org)

Many abolitionist ideals were featured in slave narratives such as The Heroic Slave by Frederick Douglass which contain various evidence of anti slavery propaganda. In The Heroic Slave there is a comparison to how Madison Washington’s decisions to overtake the Creole is related to the American Revolutionary War as seen in the passage, “our difference of color was the only ground for difference of action. It was not that his principles were wrong in the abstract; for they are the principles of 1776” (Douglass 237-238). In the Narrative of Henry Box Brown, Who Escaped from Slavery Enclosed in a Box 3 Feet Long and 2 Wide. Written from a Statement of Facts Made by Himself. With Remarks Upon the Remedy for Slavery the section, Cure for the Evil of Slavery, tries to motivate the reader to be an advocate for social change. An example of this can be found is the passage:
Our fathers proclaimed themselves free and independent of the British government, and proceeded to establish a new one, in its room. They threw off the British yoke! We can do the same, in reference to the United States government! We can put forth our "declaration of independence," and issue our manifesto of grievances; and as our fathers did, can pledge to one another, "our lives, our property and our sacred honor," in promoting the accomplishment of this end. We can immediately organize a new government, independent of the present one under which we live (Sterans 69).

Family History

Captain Jabez Burrell moved with his family in 1816 from Sheffield, Massachusetts to Sheffield, Ohio a year after claiming a plot there. For their first few years in Ohio, the Burrell family lived in a log cabin near what is now the French Creek Reservation. In 1820, they moved to one of the first brick houses in Lorain County which was built by Burrell himself. Captain Burrell passed away in 1833, leaving the home to his son Robbins who then opened The Sheffield Manual Labor Institute. The Institute was a branch of Oberlin College that operated with the belief that all people should have the right to an education. The State of Ohio would not charter the school unless it agreed to ban African American students. Both Oberlin College and the Burrells disagreed with this rule so after only eighteen months, the school closed. In the years following, Robbins used his home as the final stop on the Underground Railroad. Burrell descendants Eleanor, Virginia, and Doris were the last to call the Burrell place home. Eleanor resided there until she passed away in 2001, at which time the Lorain County Metroparks took over ownership.

Role in the Underground Railroad

The Burrell homestead was the last stop along a freedom route in Lorain County. The Burrell homestead along the Black River was many slaves’ final stop before reaching freedom in Canada. The Burrell Homestead was stop 100 in the Ohio portion of the Underground Railroad (A Brief History). Specifically, the Burrells would hide the runaway slaves in a barn behind their home. Robbins Burrell would take the slaves in a hollow-bottomed cart to the Black River at night and would sail them down the river to Charleston (Lorain). After sailing 20 miles out (north) into Lake Erie, the slaves were considered free. The slaves ran away to Canada in response to a revised Fugitive Slave Law in 1850 which declared that citizens were required to assist in the capture of runaway slaves (A Brief History). The northern states were no longer considered safe for slaves, so they escaped to Canada. The Burrell homestead was the last stop for a slave before reaching freedom into Canada (A Brief History). This stop is one of the most important stops because it was the one that gave the slaves their freedom. The Underground Railroad stop 100 at the Burrell homestead was active for over 20 years, and throughout that time there were no slaves caught residing there (French Creek Reservation).

Lorain Station 100

Lorain Station 100 (or Underground Railroad stop 100) was a port on the Black River where Burrell would transfer slaves from a wagon to boats on the port. His cousin, Captain Aaron Root, aided him by providing the boats that would take the slaves from Lake Erie to Canada. This location was declared an historical landmark on September 9, 2006 by the Ohio Historical Society. This site also has a large bronze sculpture of a slave family making their journey to freedom on Lorain Station 100 which was created by artist, George Danhires, in 2007 (The Chronicle).

Branch of Oberlin College

In 1836 there were no options for young African Americans to get a college education unless they went to Oberlin College which was very active in the movement for equality for all individuals (Gorman). However, with so many students at this college, Oberlin College opened four other branches. One of these branches was the Sheffield Manual Labor Institute which was at the Burrell homestead. This institute educated blacks and whites but closed a year later because the school could not get its charter from Ohio Legislature unless it refused to educate black students. Oberlin College was certainly not going to deny education to anyone so the school at the Burrell House was closed down in 1837(Gorman). Some students continued their education in Oberlin but many were not able to and were dispersed after the school closed. Although the school was not successful the fact that the school would not continue to operate if women and African Americans were excluded, shows that this kind of discrimination would not be tolerated by the Sheffield Manual Labor Institute (Herdendorf). It is also an important part of the history of the Burrell Homestead because they were actively trying to abolish discrimination against the oppressed. Even though this part of the Burrell house history ended in failure, it still made a statement for us to reflect on today about standing up against beliefs and practices that are more favored than others. Even though the school could have been more successful if they denied education to African Americans, they were not willing to compromise what they knew was right which is why the history of this homestead still has valuable lessons that everyone can learn from.

Summary and Importance

In conclusion, there is so much history hidden under the material taught in public school. Right in our own county, a home was used to harbor slaves and get them to freedom. The Burrell Homestead stood and still stands to this day as an omen of the past--as a place where others gained their freedom against a government who wanted to see them enslaved. People born from our area had the same mindset as the people of today: slavery was completely wrong and no one deserved to live under such conditions. It is really interesting to know the history of the area we live in. It creates a better sense of community and discussion. It helps us think more of the tragedies of the past, and how they affect the future. It may even help some people feel prideful to have been a part of a community of others who helped people escape slavery. It brings us together knowing that people deserve a chance at freedom, and education. Oberlin College still stands today as a prominent school in Ohio and many people from this area could be applying without knowing its full history and how it had a part in racial equality. These landmarks areas still stand today as a reminder of the past, and how far we have come since then. They also help remind us of how events of the past have affected the present, and what that means to us.

Bibliography

Abolitionists. Ohio History Connection.
http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Abolitionists?rec=569. Accessed on 6 Dec. 2017.

“A Brief History .” Sheffield Village, Lorain County, Ohio, Sheffield Village , 2009,
www.sheffieldvillage.com/history.htm.

Douglass, Frederick. “The Heroic Slave”. Chapel Hill: Academic Affairs Library,
University of North Carolina, 2001.

Final Stage of the Ohio Underground Railroad Project: Sylvia Duvall African Heritage.
LorainCounty.com, 2006, http://www.loraincounty.com/lorain/feature.shtml?f=9226.
Accessed on 2 Dec. 2017.

“French Creek Reservation.” French Creek Reservation at Lorain County Metro Parks, Lorain
County Metro Parks, 2012, www.metroparks.cc/french_creek.php.

Gorman, Ron. “James Bradley – from Hopeless Bondage to Lane Rebel.” Oberlin Heritage
Center Blog, American Alliance of Museums, 5 Sept. 2013,
www.oberlinheritagecenter.org/blog/2013/09/james-bradley-from-hopeless-bondage-to-la
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Herdendorf, Charles E. Sheffield Village. Arcadia Pub., 2011.

“Remarkable Ohio.” Lorain County / 15-47 Burrell Homestead | Remarkable Ohio, Ohio History
Connection, www.remarkableohio.org/index.php?%2Fcategory%2F896.

Remington, Kaylee. “Historic Sites: Burrell Homestead Sets Stage for Sheffield Village.”The
Morning Journal, The Morning Journal, 14 Apr. 2015,
www.morningjournal.com/article/mj/20150414/NEWS/150419795.

Station 100 Lorain County. Waymarking.com, 30 Mar. 2008,
http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM1A4R_Lorain_Station_100_25_47.
Accessed on 25 Nov. 2017.

Sterans, Charles. “Narrative of Henry Box Brown, Who Escaped from Slavery Enclosed in a Box 3 Feet Long and 2 Wide. Written from a Statement of Facts Made by Himself. With Remarks Upon the Remedy for Slavery”. Chapel Hill: Academic Affairs Library, UNC-CH University of North Carolina, 2003.

Sullenberger, Carl. Reflecting Lorain’s History. The Chronicle, 14 Jun. 2007,
http://www.chroniclet.com/news/2007/06/14/Reflecting-Lorain-s-history.html. Accessed on 30 Nov. 2017.

The Chronicle Telegram. “ Reflective Garden of Station 100 on the Underground Railroad”. Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 18 June 2007. Web. 3 Dec 2017.

The Underground Railroad: The Lorain County Connection. Lorain Public Library System.org,
https://www.lorainpubliclibrary.org/research/local-research/local-history-resources/underground-railroad. Accessed on 25 Nov. 2017.

Vidika, Ron. “Mammoth Exhibit Puts Visitors into Ice Age.” Avon, Ohio, The Morning Journal,
18 Jan. 2001, www.avonhistory.org/hist/fcice.htm.

Created by Sarah Weills, Brittnney Lopez, Abigail Doane, Gabrielle Post, and Rachel Williams
Fall 2017, Dr. Jewon Woo's African American Literature at Lorain County Community College
If you want to quote this page,
[MLA]
Doane, Abigail, et al. “The Burrell Homestead: The Final Stop on the Underground Railroad.” Quilting African American Experiences In Northeast Ohio, http://scalar.usc.edu/works/quilting-african-american-experiences-in-northeast-ohio/the-burrell-homestead?t=1544105519905. Accessed date month year.