The Underground Railroad Society of Cass County (URSCC) has announced that the organization recently completed the purchase of the James E. Bonine House and Carriage House in Vandalia at M-60 and Calvin Center Road, with the intent to preserve and restore both properties for use as education and community centers.

The mission of URSCC is “to provide a focal point for exploration into the origins and activities of the Underground Railroad; the unique role the people of Cass County and the surrounding region played throughout its existence; and how it impacted local, state and national history.”

URSCC president and building/grounds committee chair Mike Moroz of Dowagiac said, “acquiring these properties has been challenging. We thought we had them a year ago, and the deal fell through. We felt this was our last opportunity since the Bonine House is coming to the point of being irreparably damaged due to years of neglect. When the property came back on the market recently, everyone rallied to the cause and we were able to close within two weeks. We have a long road ahead of us, but with everyone’s help we can restore these iconic buildings to the glory they deserve.”

The properties are important for their architectural significance, as the ancestral home of the Bonine Family and for their intimate connection to Underground Railroad activity in this area.

James E. Bonine came to Cass County in 1843 and construction of the Greek Revival farmhouse began shortly thereafter. Soon after the Civil War the farmhouse was enlarged and enclosed in one of the most flamboyant American-Victorian styles, Second Empire. The Bonine House then had elaborate double doors, tall arched windows, decorative brackets and a central mansard tower surmounted with an elegant high pitched roof. A one story porch wrapped around the front. It is one of the best and last examples of this style in southwest Michigan. A very rare example of a Gothic Revival carriage house across the street was built in the 1850s and is thought to have been adapted from “The Architecture of Country Houses” by A.J. Downing, published in 1850.

Elk Park Farm (named for a 60-acre elk and buffalo park adjacent to the house) became home to four generations of the Bonine Family, the last being state Sen. G. Elwood Bonine (1896-1976). His daughter Mary Charlotte supplied the photos of the house and carriage house as they looked when she lived there. A more extensive Bonine Family history as well as additional photos are available on the URSCC website, urscc.org (or search “Bonine House”).

James E. Bonine was a Quaker and an ardent abolitionist. He married Sarah Bogue, daughter of Stephen Bogue, a noted URR stationmaster, in 1844. They were members of Young’s Prairie Anti-Slavery Meeting. James E. was a witness for Stephen Bogue in the Kentucky Raid trial of 1850, when Kentucky slave-owners sued seven Quakers for their part in the infamous Kentucky Raid of 1847. While there is little evidence that fugitive slaves were harbored in the Bonine House (and the tower wasn’t used to attract or warn them since it wasn’t built until after the Civil War), there is much testimony that they were harbored in the Carriage House.

James E. and other Quaker farmers set aside land to be cleared and farmed by fugitives and Freedmen. They built cabins, earned money and when the arrangement ended, many stayed in the area and purchased their own property. The Bonine settlement included a school and came to be known as “Ramptown.” Several eye witnesses have located Ramptown south of M-60 west of Calvin Center at Bonine Street.

Moroz said the Bonine House is the immediate priority with emergency repairs on the roof and water diversion currently in process.

“Our plan is to preserve, then restore, as money becomes available,” he said. “A new roof and extensive structural repairs to the foundation are the next priority.

“We plan to begin work on the yard and gardens in the spring,” he said. “There’s a lot to do and we need a lot of people to help. There are volunteer opportunities for all levels of expertise and experience.”

“We are a 501(c)3 tax deductible non-profit, and of course donations are urgently needed,” Moroz said. “Contributions can be made online, or by mail. We invite everyone to join URSCC and become a Friend of the Bonine House by going to our website urscc.org or write to us at URSCC P.O.Box 124, Vandalia MI 49095. We will add you to our email and mailing lists. URSCC plans to have regular hours at its office at 808 East State St., Cassopolis (in the Family Dollar shopping center) in the near future.”

URSCC will hold a press conference and community gathering at the Bonine House when weather permits in the spring. More information on the URR in Cass County and the Bonine House can be found at the URSCC website, urscc.org (or search Bonine House).

A driving tour of 10 Cass County URR sites is available at the historical marker in Vandalia, or on urscc.org.