Tour of restored Blodgett House offers insights into Underground Railroad

Touring the home of one of Downers Grove’s founding families will let community members get up close and personal with their efforts to help those trying to escape slavery during the Civil War era.

In fall 2018, the Downers Grove Park District was awarded a $50,000 grant from the Timken Foundation to restore the interior of the 1846 Blodgett House, once home to Israel and Avis Blodgett. The grant supported the larger Public Museum Capital Grant released to the district by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources in 2019.

Besides its architectural significance as the second oldest house in Downers Grove, the structure boasts historical significance as being an active stopover point on the Underground Railroad.

“We’re very excited we’re finally able to get it open to the public,” said Felicia Camacho, recreation supervisor at the Downers Grove Museum.

The fourth Saturday tour dates for “The Blodgett’s and the Underground Railroad” exhibit are 1 p.m. Jan. 28, Feb. 25 and March 25.

Israel and Avis Blodgett, who came to Downers Grove in February 1836 after initially arriving in Illinois in 1830 from Amherst, Massachusetts, first settled in a small, one-room log cabin at 831 Maple Ave., where the Downers Grove Historical Museum is now located. Israel Blodgett worked as the town’s blacksmith.

In 1846, the Blodgetts replaced the family’s earlier log cabin with a one-and-a-half story frame structure. Before the turn of the 20th century, the house was moved to a new location toward the south end of the Blodgett property, now identified as 812 Randall St.

“It was moved back onto park district property on a new foundation in 2008 with the idea that we wanted to save the house and use it as part of the museum campus because of its unique history,” Camacho said.

District officials said completing the interior of the house expands the cultural impact the museum will have on the surrounding communities and illuminate Downers Grove’s heritage as a part of the Underground Railroad.

Camacho said the western suburb of Chicago was founded in the 1830s.

“And it was just a few years later this house was built, so it was around the same time the whole community was forming,” she said. “This exhibit will show how the people lived in that time period and came together, we believe, to help others.”

During the tour, attendees can glimpse the abolitionist newspaper found in the Blodgett House, explore the lives of Israel and Avis Blodgett and learn more about how they contributed to the care of those fleeing the south.

“We will share stories provided by the Blodgett family memoirs and autobiographies that illustrate the family’s history and connection to both abolitionism and the Underground Railroad,” Camacho said. “The newspaper is actually still adhered to the wall as only partial pieces have been uncovered. However, we were able to determine one of the actual newspaper dates from those pieces and have a copy for visitors to view.”

To register for a tour, visit https://bit.ly/3uWVIOM. The registration fee is $10 for residents and $15 for nonresidents.