Lewis Hayden Runs Boston's Most Daring Underground Railroad Station

Lewis Hayden, who had escaped Kentucky slavery in 1844 with his family, turned his Boston boardinghouse into a major Underground Railroad depot after the Fugitive Slave Act (1850) made Boston dangerous. He famously kept two kegs of gunpowder in his cellar, threatening to blow up the house if slave-catchers entered. He personally sheltered William and Ellen Craft and played a key role in preventing the rendition of Shadrach Minkins in 1851.