History Hidden
Covenant Presbyterian Church's involvement in the Underground Railroad was kept as hidden as the church tunnel that reportedly sheltered runaway slaves.
Church tradition holds that its third pastor, the Rev. Loyal Young, took on the task of harboring runaway slaves in a room beneath the sanctuary of the church at 230 E. Jefferson St.
As dangerous as it was for the fugitive slaves, who faced whippings and worse if recaptured, those who aided them faced jail sentences and stiff fines.
It's said that one of his eight children, S. Hull Young, discovered his father with a group of slaves.
His father warned, “If you ever say a word about what you have seen to anybody, even your own brothers, you will put us all in great danger. Shut all this tight in your heart and never whisper a word of it.”
Today, hidden under a trapdoor in the south entryway, stairs lead down to what is now the church's boiler room, where an opening in the wall allegedly leads to the Underground Railroad stop.
Leanne Heaton, one of the church members who conducts tours, said the former pastor, the Rev. Jim Swanson, set up a viewing platform and display of the railroad's routes and major figures, such as Harriet Tubman.
“At the time, this was part of the outside foundation,” said Heaton, pointing to a hole in the stone wall.
“There was a hole in the ground, a trapdoor covered with sod,” she said. “Fugitives would open the door and crawl down into the tunnel.
“The trapdoor would be closed, the sod replaced and garlic would be put down to thwart dogs,” Heaton said.
She said the tunnel goes under the church and exits in what was then Covenant Presbyterian's cemetery, now the site of Butler Junior High School.Heaton said she often wonders how the Underground Railroad was first organized.“The 'conductors' didn't know each other,” Heaton said. “The runaways were taken to places and told to hunker down and wait until someone would come take them on the next leg of the journey.”Heaton said runaway slaves followed rivers, railroads and major roads, with the ultimate destination being Canada.Covenant's current pastor, the Rev. John C. Silbert, said the railroad's conductors, especially after the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was passed, faced huge fines, imprisonment and loss of their jobs if caught.Nothing was ever written down, and the Underground Railroad station under the church sanctuary was part of church lore.Still, said Silbert, “Church members were known to have hidden runaway slaves.“I would like to know who was in the inner circle.”After staying under the church for up to a week, Silbert said, the runaways would emerge from an exit in the church cemetery, where they would meet a conductor to help them continue their journey.
Silbert said that while it was incredibly brave of the abolitionists to aid the escaping slaves, the slaves themselves took on enormous odds.“They had no knowledge, no education, no experience of any life outside of their own plantation,” he said.Heaton said before the pandemic, the church would host visits of the tunnel's opening and historical displays for the Butler Area School District's fifth-graders.“It's an oral tradition, and some doubt it, which is understandable,” Heaton said. “But I, for one, feel undoubtedly it was going on.“It's an amazing reality in our national history,” she said.Silbert said those wishing to see the tunnel and display should call the church at 724-287-7731.
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