The Underground Railroad Wasn’t a Railroad at All
Despite being called an underground railroad, there was no railroad. It was more like a network of people who allowed former slaves to hide in the underground rooms of their homes, like the one under Poulos’ basement. By 1850, the railroad ran from the Deep South all the way to Canada thanks in part to a former slave named William Still, who established his “headquarters” 6 miles from Poulos’ home, and was dubbed the “Father of the Underground Railroad.”