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Charles Brown’s historic home, off National Route 45, was where slaves hid – under the stairs or in the kitchen cabinets, both of which had false backs.
Call him “a work in progress,” Bloomfield residents Roger and Heather Peterson and other volunteers began restoring the 1845 two-story Charles Brown House.
The Petersons purchased the house in 2020 and worked on its restoration, with the intention of eventually opening it up to historic places, educational programs and school groups.
“Our goal is to have small events here on a regular basis, such as a living history presentation or a small dinner, where you can meet the Brown family and other families. “ Roger Peterson said.
He said an engineer from Chardon is developing an Environmental Protection Agency approved septic system for the home. Other work includes roof replacement, foundation work, and electrical, plumbing and window repairs.
The house, in the neo-Gothic style of the 1800s, has a complete basement. The 6,000 square foot home sits on a hill overlooking Route 45 on a five acre site. The house has six bedrooms, one with a balcony. A room was used for domestic help.
“When the previous owners passed away, their family offered it to my wife and myself. We recognized the historic significance of the house, which made us want this house. For many years people did not know that this house was here because the trees and brush hid it ”, said Peterson.
The family hope to be able to open the house to the public at the end of 2022.
“We love the architecture and grandeur of the 1840s house, which we want to bring home,” by having period lights and fireplaces restored, he said. The house sits south of Bloomfield Center, near the historic 1893 Town Hall and across from the 1819 Brownwood House, owned by Terry and Judy Sheridan.
He said Ephraim Brown was one of the co-owners of Bloomfield and was brought up to despise slavery. He became one of Northeast Ohio’s leading abolitionists.
198 years ago this month, residents of Bloomfield were helping slaves get to Canada and escape those who hunted them, Peterson said.
He said the Brownwood House across the street was where slaves first went in the early 1840s to escape.
“My wife and I were very impressed with the history of the house. You can come in and sit inside the house or sit on the porch and understand why this place is important ”, he said.
He said William Wells Brown, an early published black writers and former slave, wrote in a letter to Frederick Douglas about staying in the house. Brown was invited by Charles Brown to come and speak in churches across the region about the evils of slavery.
Peterson said the house was the last Underground Railroad stop in Trumbull County before the slaves ventured to Ashtabula.
“Because this is private property, there is no grant money available. We hope that the septic system will be approved and installed for next year ”, said Peterson.
“We want to open the house to the public so people can understand what happened in their own backyards. I want them to see what it was like for them to be men of courage ”, he said.
He said that in the 1850s, if a person was caught helping and encouraging a slave, he was fined $ 1,000.
“Efraim, in helping a family of four, would face a fine of $ 4,000 if caught. He would have gone completely bankrupt and wiped out his finances. They were men and women who really put their money where their mouth was. When the going got tough, these people stood up ”, said Peterson.
“It’s rural Bloomfield where you could hide people in a barn,” he said. “Our family, friends, and church members have helped us around the house, and others are a source of history information.”
Peterson said he did scrapings to determine the original colors of the rooms in the house in order to repaint them.
“We think a lot about what we do” he said.
Peterson said the interior and exterior walls of the house are made of solid wood, known as stacked plank construction. A wired-activated doorbell system in the house is used for the entrance doorbell.
“There are things this house has that are the originals, like fireplaces,” he said.
Meghan Reed, director of the Trumbull County Historical Society, said the society had recently booked its members. “In the wings” tours of buildings and visited Charles Brown House several weeks ago.
“The Underground Railroad is an important part of this and other Bloomfield homes. North Bloomfield was Trumbull County’s hub for the Underground Railroad and many homes along Route 45, known as the ‘Road to Justice’. Reed said.
Find out more about …
Ephraim Brown
• Original co-owner of Bloomfield Township, eventually buying out his partner.
• Provided land for township townships, township cemetery and several plots of land for district schools in Bloomfield.
• Built Brownwood House in 1819, where he lived until his death in 1845.
• Strongly abolitionist from the start, as his writings indicate.
• Two of his direct quotes on slavery “It is the supreme gift of heaven, the great decree of nature, that no one is a slave, that God himself has made free” and “I learned from my cradle to despise slavery and I will teach my children the same if ever I had. “
Charles Brun
• Learned to hate slavery from parents.
• He was about 10 years old when the slave rescue in 1823 took place.
• Was a Pittsburgh merchant.
• Married to Julia King. Julia’s father, Judge Leicester King, was a good friend of Ephraim Brown and was also a staunch abolitionist.
• Was one of the original signatories of the Hiram College Charter.
• Creation of a local temperance society.
THE SOURCE: “History of Trumbull and Mahoning Counties, Ohio”
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