CASS COUNTY — The history of the Bonine House on M-60 in Vandalia has grown in notoriety over the years. For decades, most people saw it as an old brick house that had an unsound foundation — if they even noticed it at all. But over the past few years as the home has been restored, so to has its reputation as a beacon of freedom for escaped slaves in the mid-1800s.

This progression happened thanks to the Underground Railroad Society of Cass County, which was officially established as a nonprofit in 2010.

“Any area has a lot of hidden gems,” said Cathy LaPointe. “And a lot of people didn’t realize this was going on.”

Shortly after UGRRSCC was founded, it purchased the Bonine House, and ever since then, the organization’s members have worked tirelessly to spread the word about how pivotal Cass County was for more than 2,000 freedom-seeking slaves heading north on the Underground Railroad — with the house as a centerpiece.

For the last several years, the organization has dedicated an entire weekend celebration to this history, called Underground Railroad Days, which beings tomorrow at 7 p.m. with a showing of the documentary “The 1847 Kentucky Raid.” The UGRRSCC is partnering with the Village of Vandalia for the weekend-long event. The film is by Sally Jo Conner, who is from Vandalia. It was premiered at last year’s Underground Railroad Days.

“The story here was pretty much forgotten over time,” LaPointe said. “The Kentucky Raid especially, and the presence of Quakers, that was all in the Cass County history books. It’s been there, but they never taught it in school. A lot of the descendants of slaves that came here, they called them freedom seekers now. They’re still here. They have family histories, they just don’t want to talk about it.”

The 1847 Kentucky Raid is a story of a slave trader from Kentucky, who came to Vandalia to roundup freedom seekers, only to be stopped by local Quakers, free blacks and abolitionists. This documentary notes that this event helped to hasten the Civil War.

After the film, Underground Railroad Days continues at 11 a.m. on Saturday with guided tours of the Kentucky Raid sites, presentations at the Vandalia Youth Center, entertainment at the Ramptown Cabin in Milo Barnes Park and more.

Several Underground Railroad sites will also be open for people to tour at their own pace, including the Bonine House and the Bonine Carriage House, which are across M-60 from one another.

“Normally we advise people to use their car and drive across the street,” said Cindy Yawkey.

One of the features of the Carriage House is an only wagon that was used to transport and hide freedom seekers by utilizing a secret compartment.

“They would put bags of grain on top of the wagon,” Yawkey said. “If slave catchers saw the wagon they would just think it was fully loaded.”

Throughout the weekend for $10, the Village of Vandalia will also be offering a soul food dinner.

“It’s just a really fun, interesting, educational weekend,” LaPointe said.

For more information on Underground Railroad Days, visit urscc.org.