Iowa
Old Press
FREMONT COUNTY HERALD
Sidney, Fremont Co., Iowa
April 23, 1903.
OLD RELIC GONE.
The House Where John Brown Drilled his Men Consumed by Fire.--
Tabor, Iowa, April 11
A little blaze in a cottage in this city a few days ago is
fraught with much historic interest, for the famous "John
Brown House" was the victim, a relic of the Underground
Railway in the '50s and during the civil war.
And what stories the little old shack could tell of the
frightened gatherings of fleeing darkey slaves, or the gayer
scenes when care was thrown to the winds and the floor cleared
for a "reg'lar old-fashioned breakdown". For it was in
the house that many a time the fiddle shrieked while the
fugitives danced to a merry tune in accordance with the plans of
Brown himself, who believed it a good time to thus cheer up the
fleeing negroes.
This house is given added interest because its builders are still
living, one of them here and the other in or near Glenwood, Iowa.
It also sheltered a miniature arsenal, which afterward became
famous, and a cannon, which came from Maine with a party of
northerners, found lodging there until it was taken to Kansas for
real war.
The so-called "John Brown house" was originally
constructed to give additional school room for the children of
the public school. Away back in the '50s the public school house
was located on the site of the present big brick church of the
Congregationalists.
This structure was built that was to give more space for school
purposes under the direction of Deacon George B. Gaston, a famous
pioneer in these parts, and the men who did most of the work on
the little edifice, destined to become historic, were S. H. Adams
and William Shepardson--the former still living here--the latter,
southwest of Glewnood. The building was located on the property
owned by Dr.J. F. Sanborn. John Brown was ever bringing parties
of blacks through here to aid them in their escape from slavery.
This little school house served as a shelter, where they danced
and fiddled away a merry hour, accompanied their benefactor to
church, and then were hurried on to the next underground station.
Parties were passing through Tabor from the east--one composed of
200 men from Maine. They had arms, ammunition and one cannon,
which was carefully guarded. These men found lodging in this
building and in other places about the small village, and later
went on to assist in the free state cause in Kansas. The cannon
was carried thence in a load of corn.
Brown drilled his men here from time to time, who were recruited
from the east, and passengers going through Tabor on the daily
stage coach from Missouri viewed the proceedings in very great
rage. John Brown's use of the little school house for the
escaping blacks on the one hand and the people passing through
from the east on the other hand, and the subsequent history of
the civil war stamped the otherwise insignificant building with
importance.
"It seems ages ago," said S.H. Adams who built the
house, the other day, "that there was much excitement in
Tabor. It became quite a common thing to see party of negroes in
the vicinity, where we hardly knew what a black man was prior to
the Underground. It was indeed a picturesque scene to see those
men drilling for a coming conflict under the leadership of John
Brown. My, but he was a character! The world has never seen many
such men. He was simply saturated with the idea of freeing the
slaves, and that his life should be forfeited for that idea was
of no consequence to him, provided that he did something toward
the emancipation of the slave."
It is interesting in this connection to recall the underground
station at Nebraska City, Neb., which was written up in the
Sunday World Herald not more than a couple of years ago. Some
traces of that historic spot where the slaves were secreted still
remain, and it was from that point that many fugitives were taken
to Kansas and Missouri, to be piloted across the corner of
Nebraska into Iowa and on to Tabor.
[transcribed by W.F., February 2006]