(1860, Hannah Grace) The woman who hid 300 runaways in her house — her diary found 100 years later

In 1860, in a quiet town where every window watched and every footstep echoed suspicion, Hannah Grace lived an ordinary life—at least, that’s what the world believed. Behind the walls of her modest home, however, she was carrying out one of the boldest underground operations in American history. Over the course of several years, more than 300 runaway slaves passed through her house, hidden beneath floorboards, inside false walls, and behind secret doors—often just inches away from slave catchers searching for them. Hannah never spoke of her work. She left no witnesses, no confessions—only silence. When she died, her secret seemed buried forever. But 100 years later, a sealed diary was discovered in an attic, its pages filled with names, dates, coded maps, and chilling descriptions of near captures, midnight escapes, and lives saved at unimaginable risk. This is the forgotten story of a woman who defied the law, risked execution, and turned her home into a sanctuary of freedom—one hidden page at a time.