The area that now serves as the visitor’s entrance to Parks-Bentley Place…. Slightly off to the right as you face the back of the building is what was originally the front entrance, as the structure was oriented toward the Hudson River, which runs along the area north of the property.

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Hidden beneath the floor of the small area between the two is a trap door which suggests it might have been used as a space to hide slaves seeking freedom along the Underground Railroad.

 

Since the house sits on the site of the original Indian path and eventually what became the military road north to Quebec and because of its close proximity to the river, family lore indicates that the space was actually used to keep individuals travelling the Underground Railroad from being apprehended by slave catchers who made their fortunes by returning enslaved individuals to their former owners.