The Underground Railroad / The Underground Railroad at Omar Inn and Omar Chapel of Seneca County

The Underground Railroad, also, The Underground Railroad at Omar Inn and Omar Chapel of Seneca County. Historic Underground Railroad Site. , The Underground Railroat. The Underground Railroad was neither underground nor a railroad, but a system of loosely connected safe havens where those escaping the brutal conditions of slavery were sheltered, fed, clothed, nursed, concealed, disguised, and instructed during their journey to freedom. Although this movement was one of America's greatest social, moral, and humanitarian endeavors, the details about it were often cloaked in secrecy to protect those involved from the retribution of civil law and slave-catchers. Ohio's history has been permanently shaped by the thousands of runaway slaves passing through or finding permanent residence in this state., The Underground Railroad at Omar Inn and Omar Chapel of Seneca County. The Omar Inn, which once stood about 0.2 miles south of this site on the east side of present- day State Route 4, was an Underground Railroad station. Runaway slaves were hidden in the livery stable there until they could be safely transported to Seven Mile House, located just south of Sandusky. The Omar Inn was established by Thomas Bennitt around 1830 and was later managed by the Reed Gambee families. Bennett provided parcels of his farmland for the Omar Chapel and Cemetery in 1842 and Baptist and Methodist congregations shared the chapel until 1859. Abolitionism was undoubtedly preached and discussed here. Some of those who sided with the runaways and worshipped at the Omar Chapel are buried nearby.