Antique Dresser Inside NYC Museum Reveals Secret Stop on the Underground Railroad
The Merchant's House Museum in Manhattan, a home built in 1832 by Joseph Brewster, has always been part of New York City's rich history.
On Tuesday, Spectrum News NY1 officially reported that the building is now part of American history.
The news station reported that the Underground Railroad ran through Manhattan's first landmarked building, with historians now confirming that the Merchant's House Museum is home to the first confirmed discovery of an Underground Railroad entrance in Manhattan in over 100 years.
Rumors Confirmed to be True
Spectrum News NY1 reports that, for years, there were rumors that the Merchant's House on East Fourth Street in NoHo had ties to freedom seekers. That rumor is now confirmed to be true, after architects and preservationists closely examined an antique dresser on the second floor of the museum.
The news station reports that the bottom drawer of that dresser hides an opening that proved elusive.
"When you remove the heavy bottom drawer, you can see a rectangular opening cut into the floorboards, which leads to an enclosed space about 2-by-2-feet," anchor Cheryl Wills reports. "It then reveals a ladder that leads down to the ground floor."
It's reported that Brewster had a deep connection to the abolitionist movement in the 1820s through the 1840s, and also designed blueprints for integrated churches in the area with similar secret compartments designed to hide freedom seekers. Historians underscored that Brewster designed the compartments "to be absolutely invisible to slave catchers or city marshals during the 19th century."
The Underground Railroad ran through the Merchant's House Museum, historians can now confirm - the first confirmed discovered of an Underground Railroad entrance in Manhattan in over 100 years.
— Spectrum News NY1 (@NY1) February 11, 2026
A dresser in the second floor of the house was found that had a hidden ladder that… pic.twitter.com/Wnwa2GDznS
"Historical architectural documents and old photographs confirm that the only reasonable use case for this hidden passageway in a dresser of the second floor of the house would be for hiding people," Spectrum News NY1 reports.
The Home and Museum's History
The house switched hands from the Brewster family to Seabury Tredwell, one of New York City's earliest merchants, in 1835. The Tredwell family lived in the home until it became a museum and opened to the public in 1936.
It's unclear if the Tredwell family ever knew about the secret compartment. But Brewster's support for the abolitionist movement spoke volumes.
"Being an abolitionist was incredibly rare among white New Yorkers, especially wealthy white New Yorkers," Patrick Ciccone, an architectural historian, told Spectrum News NY1. “[Joseph Brewster] was the builder of the house, and he was able to make these choices and design it."
Camille Czerkowicz, the museum's curator, also told the news station that they now know the museum once served as a "safe house" for enslaved Africans who escaped bondage in the South.
Michael Hiller, a preservation attorney and professor at Pratt Institute, explained the magnitude of such a discovery.
“I've been practicing historical preservation law for 30 years, and this is a generational find," he said. "This is the most significant find in historic preservation in my career, and it's very important that we preserve this."