Lake County's Involvement in the Underground Railroad

<p>Before the American Civil War (1861 — 1865), antislavery sentiment inspired abolitionists to work for the immediate emancipation of all enslaved people and to end racial discrimination. As part of abolitionist efforts, they aided fugitives from slavery by providing them with food and safe passage to freedom in Northern states and ultimately Canada. </p><p>The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses, which used railroad terminology, but was not actually a railroad. The routes were “lines,” those who helped fugitives were “conductors,” and safe houses were “stations.”</p>