The Pearson House is one of hundreds of houses , barns , churches and other stops in Iowa to be used in the Underground Railroad . According to Christie Daugherty , curator for the Pearson House museum , Pearson arrived in Iowa as a staunch abolitionist . And with Keosauqua only eight miles away from the Missouri border , he was in the perfect position to act as a conductor .
” Activities went from 1847 , when the house was built , up until the time of the Civil War ,” Daugherty said . “ And Pearson was very involved in conducting .”
Iowa ’ s Underground Railroad
Iowa was prolific in its involvement in the Underground Railroad . Before it was granted statehood in 1846 , it was a gathering place for abolitionists . The portion of the Underground Railroad in southeast Iowa also included multiple stops in Appanoose , Wapello and Henry counties . The Mars Hill Church outside of Ottumwa was one such location .
The Pearson house itself contained a trapdoor over a secret hiding place for the freedom seekers to rest until it was time to resume the journey . From there , they went to Winchester and then continued to Fairfield , or to east Salem in Henry County if the way was too dangerous .
While there ’ s no way of knowing how many escaped slaves passed through the Pearson House , they know that none were caught . Their stories painted the picture of the horrors of slavery .
“ One of the men who was living in Ottumwa in the early 1900s was saying : ‘ I never needed to read “ Uncle Tom ’ s Cabin .” Because I saw the type of brutalities ,’” said Leo Landis of the State Historical Museum of Iowa , paraphrasing a 1903 article in the Ottumwa Courier . “ So even if you were a person trying to seek freedom , you saw the risk of offending the person who was enslaving you .”
But the journey to freedom was long and difficult , and it was fraught with peril . Along with being hunted by slave catchers , freedom seekers faced long treks ,
12 | Now & Then inhospitable weather , rivers with swift currents and unfamiliar and difficult terrain .
One refugee to endure these hardships was Pocahontas , who escaped from bondage with her seven children . She arrived in Van Buren County with only two left . The others were either lost to illness , or left behind with sympathetic families .
“ It was in the fall , it was cold and the corn was dry , and when a group of sympathetic men went to collect her and invite her into Keosauqua into shelter , she was afraid they were slave catchers ,” Daugherty said . “ And so she ran away from them – and she threatened to kill herself and her children if they came any closer .”
Pocahontas ’ s children were later taken in by a pair of women in Van Buren County . Rather than continue up to Canada , she also stayed in the area , with residents simply knowing her as “ Aunt Poca .”
Hazards on the Railroad
But escaping into the north didn ’ t mean freedom was guaranteed . In 1850 , Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act , requiring escaped slaves to be returned , even if they were in a free state . This also meant that those living in northern states – including the authorities – had to work with slave catchers .
Conductors and others involved in the Underground Railroad thus faced jail if caught – or potentially worse .
“ With the Fugitive Slave and the penalties on assisting , you certainly were violating a federal law , and could be prosecuted for violating the federal law ,” Landis said .
Christie Dougherty of the Van Buren County Historical Society stands outside the Pearson House in Keosauqua . The house was one of several in town and in the county to be used as stops in the Underground Railroad . Photo by Donald Promnitz / The Ottumwa Courier
While no one was ever caught in the Pearson House , there were failed escapes in Van Buren County . One of those occurred when four refugees were being ferried across the river . The abolitionist helping them to escape did so by hiding them under the produce on his cart . However , these ferries were closely watched by slave catchers .