Southfield's role in the Underground Railroad

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (FOX 2) - America's 250th birthday is in just a few days. Here at FOX 2, we're celebrating by highlighting the ways Detroit played a pivotal role in the country's mission to achieve life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Southfield's role in the Underground Railroad

You probably already know Detroit played a crucial role in the Underground Railroad. 

Its code name: "Midnight." The city helped thousands of escaped slaves reach freedom in Canada. However, a church in Southfield helped as well, and its members were fierce.

"Once I learned more about the history, I'm like this happened right here, right in general Detroit, the exact city that I lived in at the time, here in Southfield. It made history real to me," said Bible college student Antonio Troutman.

Southfield, Michigan, a bustling suburb of Detroit, home to over 70,000 residents and home to a piece of American history that sits on Evergreen Road.

"Since we were involved back in the early, in the middle 19th century, this was one of the stations, one of two, that were owned by the Reformed Presbyterian Church, here exactly the grounds we're on right now," said Troutman.

The church was a stop on the Underground Railroad, a secret and organized network of people and places that helped freedom seekers reach the North or Canada in the 1700s and 1800s.

It was a Southfield Reformed Presbyterian Church, says Troutman. Back then, it was known as the Covenanter Church.

"One funny thing, at least with the American Covenanters, they weren't like the Quakers where, you know, you can just push them around. They weren't pacifists," said Troutman.

They were firmly against slavery, he says, sometimes arming themselves to help folks get to Canada.

"In the early days when they were located in Ohio, the story goes there was a bunch of college students basically who belonged to the Covenanter Church and they had this big ole wagon, and rifles, and firearms and stuff. Many of the people thought they were transporting deer, any type of game. But they were actually transporting escaped slaves," said Troutman.

And when they reached the church in Southfield, members hid them well.

"This building was finished in terms of the construction process in 1864. Of course, that's just a year under the ending of the Civil War which ended in 1865. So perhaps being a construction site, ya know, hide some folks under stuff," said Troutman.

Local perspective:

The conductor at this Underground Railroad stop was Rev. James S.T. Milligan.

"He is the son of a Reformed Presbyterian from Vermont and then later in Pennsylvania. His father was actively involved in abolition, rubbed shoulders with the likes of William Lloyd Garrison. So J.S.T. Milligan grew up in an environment where the Underground Railroad and the abolition movement was just part of his upbringing," said Southfield Reformed Presbyterian Church Pastor Adam Kuehner.

Kuehner says Rev. Milligan had a farm on 12 Mile and Evergreen that was also a part of the Underground Railroad.

"When he came to Southfield at the age of 27 in 1853, he brought that emphasis with him, preaching the gospel, ministering to people. And right out of the gate there was a steady stream from Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, of escaped slaves that came up through on their way to Canada," said Kuehner.

Slavery was abolished in December 1865. Over the years, the church and its history have been preserved. Members say it won't ever be forgotten.

"The darkness of slavery is still here in this country, in this world, and only the light of the Gospel can put it out," said Troutman.

If you're ever in Southfield, I encourage you to stop by the church or at least read this placard that details its history.

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