The first settlers arrived here in 1806 and this area was called Conrad's Mills. Later the name was changed to Cadiz. Dairy farming was the main occupation in this tiny hamlet within the Township of Franklinville. The famous Ontario Knife Company began in Cadiz in 1898 and later moved to the Village of Franklinville. Cadiz became a center of the Underground Railroad. Escaping slaves were rafted up Ischua Creek and hidden in area homes and the Stagecoach Inn at the four corners. Families known to be involved in this activity were the Meads, Burlingames and Searles. The Howe Prescott Pioneer House circa 1814, located on this site, serves as a museum for the Ischua Valley Historical Society. Abolitionist Merlin Mead lived here in 1841. George L. White, son of Abolitionist William White, a blacksmith, was born in 1838 in a home that once stood across the road from this saltbox house. In 1871 George L. White founded the Jubilee Singers at Fisk University in Tennesee. The original choir at this Black University was composed of former slaves who toured and performed throughout the world to raise funds to support the University. White, the musical director, is credited with helping save the spirituals and songs that had been passed down by slaves when they were in bondage. The Jubilee Singers are still in existence today. Thi sign has been erected in memory of benefactors James W. and Phyllis Baughman Bush.
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