The Henderson Lewelling House, also known as the Lewelling Quaker Museum, is a historic building located in

Salem, Iowa Salem is a city in Henry County, Iowa, United States. The population was 394 at the time of the 2020 census. History Salem was settled originally by Quakers with the intent that it be a community of Friends. In 1835 Aaron Street, while wending ...

, United States.

Henderson Luelling Henderson William Luelling (April 23, 1809 – December 28, 1878) was an American horticulturist, Quaker, abolitionist and early Oakland, California settler. He introduced varietal fruits to the Pacific coast, first to Oregon and later to Californ ...

(as he more consistently spelled his surname, following his father's practice) and his wife Elizabeth were among the first settlers in the Quaker community of Salem in 1837. They moved here from Henry County, Indiana, and Henderson moved his fruit tree nursery with him. This was

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

's first commercial nursery. with Henderson built this two-story stone house with

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but a ...

details in 1843. The Lewellings were

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

s associated with the Society of Anti-Slavery Friends, and his home is thought to have been a stop on the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. ...

. The family left Salem for

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

in 1847, taking the nursery with them. The Lewelling's continued to own the house after they left Salem, and Nelson Gibbs, the local Justice of the Peace, used it for his office. In 1848 he held a hearing in the house concerning the slaves of Ruel Daggs from

Clark County, Missouri Clark County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, its population was 6,634. Its county seat is Kahoka. The county was organized December 16, 1836 and named for William Clark, leader of the Lewis and Cla ...

who had escaped to Salem. Because of the size of the crowd, the hearing was moved to the Anti-Slavery Quaker Meetinghouse (no longer extant) across the street. Gibbs determined he had no jurisdiction in the case. It led to the federal court case ''Ruel Daggs vs. Elihu Frazier et al'' (1850), which was heard in the

United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa The United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa (in case citations, S.D. Iowa) has jurisdiction over forty-seven of Iowa's ninety-nine counties. It is subject to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals (except for patent claims a ...

Burlington Burlington may refer to: Places Canada Geography * Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador * Burlington, Nova Scotia * Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington" * Burlington, Prince Edward Island * Burlington Bay, no ...

. The case, which Daggs won, was one of the last major cases using the

Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 The Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 was an Act of the United States Congress to give effect to the Fugitive Slave Clause of the US Constitution ( Article IV, Section 2, Clause 3), which was later superseded by the Thirteenth Amendment, and to also gi ...

, and the only one held west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...

. The house was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1982. It is noteworthy for its association with both Lewelling's nursery and the Daggs' case. It has been converted into a museum.

References

Houses completed in 1843 Greek Revival architecture in Iowa Houses in Henry County, Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Henry County, Iowa Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa Historic house museums in Iowa Houses on the Underground Railroad Underground Railroad in Iowa Salem, Iowa {{Iowa-struct-stub

See also

References