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Schoolcraft, Michigan
Dr. Nathan Thomas House
613 E. Cass St |
 The Thomas House, built in 1835, was the
home of two of Michigan’s most active Underground Railroad participants,
Dr. Nathan Thomas and his wife, Pamela Brown, who, between the years of
1840 and 1860, helped 1,000-1,500 fugitive slaves to freedom. Much of
the information regarding his Underground activities comes from the
memoirs of Mrs. Thomas. Slaves
were brought to them by Zachariah Shugart, a fellow Quarker of Young’s Prairie in Cass
County, and the Thomases then provided the escapees safe passage to
Erastus Hussey, another Quaker living in Battle Creek.
 Thomas was an Ohio-born Quaker and
founding member of the state’s Republican Party. He is also believed to
be the first physician in Kalamazoo County. In 1837, Nathan Thomas was
one of four hundred residents of Schoolcraft (then Prairie Ronde and
Brady Townships), who petitioned Congress in opposition to the
annexation of Texas because of the territory's support of slavery.
Thomas was also a key participant in the 1854 antislavery convention
that occurred in Jackson, MI. The house remained in the Thomases'
possession until 1867-1868, when it was moved to its present site to
make way for a new home on the original site.
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The house is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places. It was purchased by the
Schoolcraft Historical Society in 1975, and they have restored it to its
appearance in the 1840s-50s. Tours are available by appointment
only. To schedule a tour, write to the Schoolcraft Historical Society,
P.O. Box 683, Schoolcraft, MI 49087, or call (269) 679-4304.
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The marker at the house reads:
Underground Railway House This historic house was built in 1835 by
Nathan Thomas, first physician of Kalamazoo County. In 1843, when asked
to assist escaping slaves, from the south, to reach Canada, he quickly
agreed. Mrs. Thomas would feed them, take them up to the loft to sleep
during the daylight hours and at dark Dr. Thomas would place them in his
wagon, conceal them with straw, and drive them to the next station in
Battle Creek. Dr. Thomas estimated that 1,000 to 1,500 "sable fugitives"
passed through his station. |
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