%20(1).png)
.png){kind=small}
Gardner Homestead and
Flint Cemetery Office
Gardner House
National Park Service National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Designated Facility
.png)
The Gardner House is a verified Network to Freedom site in the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom.
The National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom, established by Congress in 1998 and administered by the National Park Service, recognizes places, programs, and people with verifiable connections to the Underground Railroad.
Ozem Gardner (1797–1880) and his wife Jane Gardner (1804–1869) began assisting freedom seekers as early as 1835.
Completed around 1840, the Gardner family’s brick Federal-style house served as a place of refuge for freedom seekers for at least 30 years. Ozem Gardner provided transportation, and the entire family participated in this sustained effort to aid escape from enslavement.
The Gardner House has been completely renovated. These preservation and access efforts ensure that the Gardner family’s legacy—and the broader story of the Underground Railroad in central Ohio—can continue to educate and inspire future generations.