Aaron Benedict house photograph

The description on the back of the photograph reads: "Aaron L. Benedict's house, an underground station in Alum Creek Settlement." The Underground Railroad was a system of safe houses and hiding places that helped fugitive slaves escape to freedom in the north. Aaron Benedict was a conductor on the Underground Railroad in Alum Creek. Ohio. He was born on January 21, 1817, in Alum Creek, and eventually inherited his father's farm property. As a devout abolitionist, he was known for assisting fugitive slaves on the Underground Railroad. Slave owners eventually established a $1,000 reward for Benedict's capture. On several occasions, Benedict hired attorneys for accused fugitive slaves. He once convinced a slave owner to free a slave mother and her four children, whom the owner had recaptured near Alum Creek. Benedict threatened the owner with arrest, convincing him to leave the five fugitives alone. Benedict also helped another fugitive, John Green, to free family members still held in bondage in Kentucky. Unfortunately for Green, slave catchers eventually seized his wife and children and returned them to slavery despite Benedict's efforts. Following the American Civil War, Benedict began to raise and breed bees. He became widely respected for his bee research and eventually moved to Kelleys Island on Lake Erie, where he opened an apiary. Benedict died on February 17, 1905