Buttonwood Tree
House
In 1937, telephone linemen who
were sent to install phone lines in the "Chicken Pie Place"
Restaurant in Hellam, York County found an arched German fruit cellar
hewn from solid rock. The Buttonwood Tree House, which takes its name
from the large buttonwood tree in the front yard, is built like a
fortress, on solid rock, with walls 24 inches thick. The original
house was built in approximately 1760. It was remodeled sometime
between 1810 and 1820. The house is located 8 miles east of York
City. It sits midway between York City and Columbia.
A prominent businessman in both
York and Lancaster Counties, Abraham Hiestand bought the building in
1830. Hiestand also owned the Old York Inn, which was another known
Underground Railroad stop in York County. Sarah Wilson, Hiestand's
daughter inherited the property and owned it from 1865 to 1899. She
continued to help fugitives in the latter days of the Civil War.
It was in the hidden cellar that
fugitive slaves were hidden. The means of entry into the cellar was
via a fireplace in the living room. In the living room fireplace, a
hole large enough for a large person to slide down into the otherwise
completely walled in cellar was concealed. When strangers were
present a log fire was kept burning in the fireplace and the hole was
covered with stones.
The side of the Buttonwood Tree House on
Route 462 in Hellam. The entrance to the hidden cellar is under
the
far left window of the porch.
The entrance to the hidden cellar.
Interior of the cellar, showing hooks for
hanging cured meats and vent holes allegedly
used by runaway slaves as exits or entrances
to the cellar.
A close-up of a vent hole which, like the
others, has been mortared shut.
A turn of the century photograph of the front
of the Buttonwood Tree House. The house was locally known
as
the "Chicken Pie" House for its owners'
business of selling food to travellers on the Lincoln Highway. This
and
other photographs of the house show how the
hidden cellar was used as an attraction: The sign at far right
(in this photo unreadable) said "See the
Slave Cellar."
William Goodridge
House
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Elmwood Mansion
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Griest/Kirk House
|
Willis House
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Buttonwood Tree House
|
Old York Valley Inn
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Wrightsville/Columbia
Bridge
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Mifflin House
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