In 1820, Brown married Dianthe Lusk. Their first child, John Jr, was born 13 months later. In 1825, looking for a safer place (for fugitive slaves), Brown and his family moved to New Richmond, Pennsylvania. He bought of land. He cleared an eighth of it, and he built a cabin, a barn, and a tannery. The tannery had a secret room to hide escaping slaves. The John Brown Tannery Site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. It "was a major stop on the [Underground] Railroad, marking its place in history from 1825 to 1835." During that period, "Brown helped an estimated 2,500 slaves escape."