Preston in Caroline County, Maryland — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Leverton House
Finding Safe Haven
| | Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway | |
Photographed by Don Morfe, October 29, 2014
1. Leverton House Marker
Refugees from slavery came here for temporary sanctuary.
Under the cover of darkness, they crept across these fields toward the home of Quaker Jacob and Hannah Leverton. The house, a rare, documented Underground Railroad station, still stands at the end of this driveway. All along the many paths to freedom, agents like the Levertons provided food, clothing, comfort, and transportation.
This safe house anchored a refuge that also included the homes of the free black millwright, Daniel Hubbard, Quaker neighbors, Arthur Leverton and Jonah Kelley, and Harriet Tubmans father, Ben Ross. Agents faced considerable risks, and these families paid dearly for helping the enslaved to freedom.
A slave owner sued Jacob Leverton, who admitted helping a bruised and beaten slave girl. Even worse, an angry mob forced Arthur and Daniel to leave their homes and families and flee for their lives.
Erected by America's Byways; Maryland Heritage Area Authority. (Marker Number 23.)
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Abolition & Underground RR • African Americans • Religion & Religious Structures
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Location. 38° 42.3′ N, 75° 53.418′ W. Marker is in Preston, Maryland, in Caroline County. It is on Seaman Road. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 3531 Seaman Road, Preston MD 21655, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is on the Eastern Shore. It is also in the American Mid-Atlantic, on the Delmarva Peninsula, and in the Tidewater. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once one of the original Thirteen Colonies and also the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Linchester (approx. 0.4 miles away); The Underground Railroad (approx. half a mile away); Linchester Mill (approx. half a mile away); a different marker also named Linchester Mill (approx. half a mile away); Freedom (approx. 0.9 miles away); Site of Fraziers Chapel (approx. 1.1 miles away); Mt. Pleasant Cemetery (approx. 2.2 miles away); Mt. Pleasant M. E. Church (approx. 2.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Preston.
Another marker is no longer nearby. Preston (was approx. 1.1 miles away but has been confirmed missing).
Photographed by Don Morfe, October 29, 2014
3. Leverton House Marker
Photographed by Don Morfe, October 29, 2014
4. Leverton House
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), September 3, 2022
5. Nearby additional sign for the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway
Credits. This page was last revised on September 5, 2022. It was originally submitted on December 1, 2014, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. This page has been viewed 1,626 times since then and 57 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on December 1, 2014, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. 2. submitted on September 5, 2022, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. 3, 4. submitted on December 1, 2014, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. 5. submitted on September 5, 2022, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.
