Michigan Underground Railroad Secret Room Tour

I live in a house in Southern Michigan that was used as an Underground Railroad Station. The original house is a 2 story wood framed Salt Box that was constructed in 1834. It is the oldest house in Hillsdale County. George Munro bought it and then started adding on. He attached a 3 story brick framed Greek Revival style home to the East side of the original structure. The new construction began in 1840 and was completed in 1848. The final portion of the house was designed to contain a secret room.

There is only one way in and one way out of the secret room. It is through a trap door in the ceiling of a room that is now being used as a bathroom. The secret room is about 20 feet long, 6 feet wide, and 5 feet tall. There is a wall with a door that divides the space into 2 separate rooms.  Local lore claims that over 400 runaways spent some time with the Munro’s on their way to freedom across the Detroit River to Canada. 

 This space has no windows, no air ducts, and no heat.  I rarely go up there because at some point someone decided to fill it with blown insulation.  To open the trap door results in the outpouring of what feels like fiberglass. It is very itchy on the skin. The accumulation of years of dust and airborne fiberglass particles make it an uncomfortable place to try to breathe for a prolonged period of time. In over a decade of residence, I have only ventured into the secret room a handful of times.

 Before the insulation was blown in, I am sure that it was a much more comfortable place to hide. There is room for a dozen or more people to gather or lie down in reasonable comfort. The secret room is hidden in what is basically an attic on the second floor of a three story building! The timing is right for the use of this space as a hiding place for runaway slaves for the 15 years preceding the American Civil War.

 The building has been known as the Munro House for almost 2 centuries. George Munro was a pillar of the community having a hand in several businesses including a grist mill, foundry, and hotel. He was also a fur trader and contractor for the Michigan Southern Railroad. He was appointed Brigadier General of the Munro Guard of Jonesville, was involved in government and politics on several levels, and was one of the most prominent Masons in the state of Michigan.

Munro House became the first bed and breakfast in Jonesville, Michigan, in 1985. The innkeepers welcome tour groups to hear the stories of the early settlement, its important location on the Old Sauk Trail, and the Underground Railroad connection. Martin Luther King Day and Black History Month are typical dates when schools can schedule a 45 minute tour of the historic home and the stories it holds.

Mike Venturini
Jonesville Michigan Bed and Breakfast Innkeeper
“Life is good in Jonesville”