A passageway hidden below a dresser at the Merchant's House Museum had long been a mystery. Then researchers learned that the home's original builder was an abolitionist.

Enslaved Africans with dreams of being free found safety in the heart of NYC. To the naked eye, the 4-story brick row house on East Fourth Street is just another of the 19th-century buildings on a block adorned with dark shutters and time-worn character.