Milton House - Milton, WI
N 42° 46.586 W 088° 56.192
16T E 341582 N 4737807
The Milton House was an important stagecoach stop and transfer point. It was also a pre-Civil War station in the underground railroad.
Waymark Code: WM2C6F
Location: Wisconsin, United States
Date Posted: 10/10/2007
Views: 28
photo from Milton House web site |
From the historical marker:
"Erected in 1844 by Joseph Goodrich, this frontier inn is
constructed of grout -- a mixture of gravel, lime, and water. An
important stagecoach stop and transfer point, it was also a
pre-Civil War station in the underground railroad, and is still
connected by a secret escape tunnel to the old log cabin. In 1949
the Goodrich family donated the inn to the Milton Historical
Society for a museum."
From the Milton House web site:
"By 1840 abolitionism and the [underground] railroad were active in
southeastern Wisconsin. The passage of slaves through the state was
not frequent, but was enough movement to keep people interested
(Clark, 1955)."
Joseph Goodrich was well-known in the area as a strong
anti-slavery man. ". . . He was for many years a decided
anti-slavery man, a member of the old Whig party . . . He welcomed
every new truth, every discovery in science, every practical
invention . . . His apt sayings would pass from mouth to mouth and
be quoted in sermons and public addresses (U. S. Biographical
Dictionary, Wisconsin Volume, 1877)."
...
Prior to the Civil War, runaway slaves were given safe haven in
the basement of the Milton House. Runaways entered through the
cabin to the rear of the inn and then through a trap door in the
cabin's floor to the dirt tunnel that led to the basement of the
inn. In 1864, Mary Schackelmann Meyer was worked in the dining room
of the Milton House and took runaways in through the cabin, through
the trap door and the tunnel to their hiding place in the basement
(L. Lukas, unpublished term paper, 1981). |
"Milton's underground tunnel which is also unique in the nation
for being the only segment of the Underground Railroad that was
actually underground and has retained its identity and is open to
the public. There are rumors of others but none of them are
available for inspections (Dr. Rachel Salisbury, unpublished notes,
1972)."
. . . Mr. Goodrich who was operating an inn a few miles away
[from Janesville] had no such security. He had no idea whether the
people who came and signed their names in his register were
Abolitionists or non-Abolitionists, whether he could trust them or
whether he could not trust them. And so he had to devise an
entirely different method of helping the slaves to escape. . . . He
cared for them quietly in the basement [of the inn] where they
could eat and rest and get ready for the next stage of their
journey. But if the alarm were sounded here, his method of helping
the slaves to escape was to have them crawl through his tunnel
which came up under the log cabin at the back of the house through
the trap door in the floor and then they could get away down to
Storrs Lake and go on up through bowers lake to the Otter Creek
area and get out to Lake Koshkonong and keep on their northward
journey to Fort Atkinson or where they were going next. He could
not, under any circumstances, bring them through the inn because he
did not know whether he could trust his patrons or not (Dr. Rachel
Salisbury, unpublished notes, 1972)."
...
Will Davis (brother-in-law of Jane Goodrich Davis) was sent with
a wagon load of hay to the tavern [Milton House] and told not to
look back. [He] Went into the tavern and had his dinner and when he
came out he knew no one was in the wagon and returned home
(Goodrich family oral history, Milton Historical Society)."
"In the stirring days during which the fugitive slave law was
the most important matter of public interest the good people around
Milton and Albion did not generally advertise their participation
in resistance to it in the face of imprisonment in a federal prison
and a $1,000 fine. However, it has been proven beyond any
reasonable doubt that the territorial road and the stations along
its route in the basement of the Milton House and the Albion church
constituted part of the extensive system provided for the escape of
the fugitive slaves (Old Albion Academy . . ., August 4,
1949)."
Admission and hours:
Admission: Adults (13+)--$6.00 Seniors (62+)--$5.00 Children
(5-12)--$3.00 Under 5--free
Hours: Weekends in May 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Memorial Day through Labor Day daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Guided tours on the hour and half hour.
Labor Day through October 15, weekdays by appointment only.
Street address: 18 S. Janesville St. Milton, WI USA 53563
County / Borough / Parish: Rock
Year listed: 1972
Historic (Areas of) Significance: Person, Event, Architecture/Engineering: Architect, builder, or engineer: Goodrich,Joesph
Periods of significance: 1825-1849
Historic function: Commerce/Trade, Domestic: Hotel, Specialty Store
Current function: Recreation And Culture: Museum
Privately owned?: yes
Season start / Season finish: From: 05/29/2007 To: 09/04/2007
Hours of operation: From: 10:00 AM To: 5:00 PM
Primary Web Site: [Web Link]
Secondary Website 1: [Web Link]
Secondary Website 2: Not listed
National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed
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Visit Instructions: Please give the date and brief account of your visit. Include any additional observations or information that you may have, particularly about the current condition of the site. Additional photos are highly encouraged, but not mandatory.
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