Is It Unique?
Why is the Old Slave House special? It's the only Reverse Underground Railroad station known to still exist in the entire country. I know we've said John Crenshaw's manor house atop Hickory Hill was one of two such sites, but it turns out the second structure isn't what it claims to be.

The Johnston Tavern in Reliance, Delaware on the Delmarva peninsula has long been tied to the Patty Cannon Gang of the 1820s. Patty's son-in-law Joe Johnston ran the tavern then in the area known as Johnson's Corners because it sat at the corner of two Delaware counties and the Maryland state line. There's even a historical marker outside the house.

However in April, researchers from the PBS series "History Detectives" took a look at the house and the stories. Although the history is well-documented. It turns out that the house wasn't. There had been a fire and later rebuilt. Thus, while the site is well-documented for its kidnapping history, the present structure wasn't the one. You can read Delmarvanow.com's account of the filming, Cannon legend lives. The story aired this summer. I missed it but someone else told me about it.

Also, Charlotte Patterson, another documentarian focusing on the Old Slave House visited the site out east this summer as well. She too learned that it wasn't the original structure.

Like the slave house, the Patty Cannon House has its share of ghost stories, according to Troy Taylor, ghost hunter and writer from Alton.

So where does that leave the Old Slave House? It's back to being unique.