Photo submitted to Times Observer Cynthia Catlin Miller, a Sugar Grove woman active in the Underground Railroad.

Put yourself back in the spring of 1857. The political and social atmosphere is in turmoil as the nation begins to divide. You are sitting comfortably in your home in the fairly secluded, small town of Sugar Grove, Pennsylvania. The morning rain is pitter-pattering on your roof, and there’s a knock on your door. It’s an escaped slave.

“A ‘Fugitive’ from ‘Southern Society’ called at the door this morning. He was a fine-looking fellow of thirty years or so and is making his fourth attempt at [freedom]…”

These are the written words of Cynthia Catlin Miller of Sugar Grove on Tuesday, April 7, 1857.

What would you do?

The answer was a given for Miller, who was a staunch advocate of the anti-slavery, or abolitionist, movement- She would provide clothing, shelter, and guidance for the next leg of his journey, even if it could cost herself dearly.

Born in 1791, Cynthia Catlin married Richard B. Miller and lived on a large farm just outside of the town of Sugar Grove. The expansive property and simple yet sizable homestead were just one of the countless stops on the Underground Railroad, a secretive method of moving escaped slaves north in an attempt at freedom using a network of houses and routes along the way.

Cynthia kept a record of her role in the movement in her diaries, risk in and of itself as it provided written proof of her crime of aiding an escapee. The passage of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 detailed the penalties against fugitive slaves and anyone who helped them. In fact, any person aiding a runaway slave by providing food or shelter faced six months in prison and a costly fine of $1,000.

The Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission and the Warren County Historical Society invite you to the dedication of the official State Historical Marker commemorating the courageous abolitionist Cynthia Catlin Miller.

At 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 2, on the roadside at Miller’s house which still stands at 881 Big Tree Road in Sugar Grove, Warren County Historical Society will celebrate Miller and her heroic work in the Underground Railroad. The program includes an invocation by Reverend Conrad J. Wilson, opening remarks by Commissioner Benjamin Kafferlin, marker dedication by Andrea MacDonald from PHMC, a keynote presentation by Sugar Grove historian Gregory Wilson, reflection by the Honorable Laura S. Bauer, and, of course, the unveiling of the new historic marker that will stand proudly for generations to come.

Following the dedication, refreshments and entertainment will be at the Sugar Grove Presbyterian Church.

The original Miller diaries from the archives of the Warren County Historical Society will be on display at the Sugar Grove Free Library, as they also show Safe Harbor, a documentary on the Underground Railroad which features the Millers

For more information, call the Warren County Historical Society at 723-1795 or visit www.warrenhistory.org.