It’s the pit that lingered in my mind long after my first visit to the Newton History Museum at the Jackson Homestead over fifteen years ago. Built as a stone-lined root cellar, it’s where homeowner William Jackson supposedly hid escaped slaves during the 1850s. The root cellar looks barely wide enough for a man to stand in. Today it is one of the exhibits open to the public at this suburban museum that’s easily accessible by car or, with some effort, by public transportation from Boston.

According to Jackson’s daughter, Ellen:

One night between twelve and one o’clock, I well remember Father was awakened by pebbles thrown against his window. He rose and asked what was wanted. Bowditch replied, it was he with a runaway slave whom he wished Father to hide ‘till morning and then help him on his way to Canada, for his master was in Boston looking for him. Father took him in and next morning carried him fifteen miles to a station where he could take a car for Canada.

Several Jackson family members actively supported African-Americans before and after the Civil War. William’s brother Francis was treasurer of a Boston organization that aided runaway slaves and ran slave-catchers out of town. Francis’ son participated in John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry. William’s daughter Ellen raised funds for some of the earliest black colleges. This is part of the story that’s told in the museum room dedicated to the story of the nineteenth century movement to abolish slavery.

The Abolition Room is one of several in the Homestead’s basement level that tells the story of Newton from the time of its earliest Native American residents. The exhibits are designed to be child-friendly, with glass-fronted cases that adults will look down on while kids view them at eye level. “Please touch” exhibits include a scary-looking reproduction slave collar that children can try on as well as more mundane items like a school bell, butter mold, toy horse-drawn fire engine and a foot warmer made of soapstone.

The museum’s first and second floor feature exhibits on other aspects of Newton history. A small shop carries publications related to Newton and Underground Railroad history.

For more on Newton and the Underground Railroad, check out “The Underground Railroad, from Newton to the End of the Line,” a free program on Feb. 21, starting at 7 p.m. in the Newton Free Library’s Druker Auditorium. It will include talks on “Newton’s Connection to the Underground Railroad” and on the book From Midnight to Dawn: the Last Tracks of the Underground Railroad as well as a performance of composer Walter Robinson’s Harriett Tubman song by a quartet of voice students.

If you’re an experienced road cyclist who can handle automotive traffic and hills, you may enjoy reaching the museum via the Underground Railroad bicycle route . The route starts in downtown Boston and goes by the Afro American History Museum and other historic sites that’ll give you more of an African-American perspective on history than the white abolitionists’ homes in Newton, Brookline and Roxbury. More information on some of the sights on the route can be found at the Aboard the Underground Railroad website.

Be sure to bring a local road map on your ride. I discovered some small typos on the portion of the route I covered. Where the guide told me to turn left on Cypress Street in the neighboring town of Brookline, the street became School Street for several blocks. I circled several times before I figured it out.

If you’d like to see another nearby site of African-American significance, take five minutes to drive from the Newton History Museum to Curve Street, Newton’s historically African-American neighborhood. It’s home to the Myrtle Baptist Church, which was founded in 1874 by a former slave and circuit preacher.

IF YOU GO

Getting there: The 553 MBTA bus leaves from in front of 100 Federal Street, Boston and will drop you off close to the museum. The local version of the Framingham-Worcester train from Boston’s South Station will drop you a bit farther away in Newtonville. Both run irregularly, so check schedules at www.MBTA.com. Driving from Boston, take Exit 17 off the Massachusetts Turnpike onto Washington Street in Newton. The Newton History Museum at the Jackson Homestead is located at 527 Washington St., Newton, MA.

Eating: For a child-friendly menu and atmosphere, try Cabot’s Ice Cream and Restaurant, 743 Washington St., Newton, 617-964-9200. Cabot’s is well-known for its extensive array of ice cream flavors and sundaes. For Asian food, with an emphasis on the cuisine of Vietnam, there’s Lam’s Restaurant, 827 Washington St., Newton, 617-630-5222. For an elegant dining experience, go to Ariadne, 334 Walnut St., Newton, 617-332-4653, which is not open for lunch on the weekend.