The Crossing at Scioto County / The Underground Railroad

Historic Underground Railroad Site

The Crossing at Scioto County (front)

The Ohio River was a formidable obstacle for escaping slaves. Many runaways from Kentucky were aided by James Poindexter, an African-American barber and local resident, who picked up fugitives in Kentucky and ...

The Underground Railroad in Pike County

Historic Underground Railroad Site

An Elm Grove abolitionist maintained a lonely Underground Railroad station where he provided safety for escaping enslaved persons. These fugitives were attempting to travel the unfriendly route from Houston Hollow in Scioto County to safe places in ...

The Underground Railroad in West Milton

Side A:

In the year 1798, several prospectors traveled north from their North Carolina homes in search of new lands for themselves and their friends. Four of these known Quaker prospectors were John Mast, Jr., Martin Davenport and David Hoover ...

The Underground Railroad in Lincoln's Neighborhood

The Underground Railroad refers to the efforts of enslaved African Americans to gain their freedom by escaping bondage. Acts of self-emancipation made runaways "fugitives" according to the laws of the time. While most began and completed their journeys unassisted, each ...

The Underground Railroad in Hancock County

Side A:

The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 prompted an expansion of the "Underground Railroad," and as the state spanning the shortest distance between the Ohio River and Canada, Ohio saw heavy traffic in escaping slaves in the decades before the ...

The Underground Railroad

1850 - - 1865

In memory of Fulton County Citizens who harbored fugitive slaves on their way to freedom in Canada. In Indiana, the underground railroad began along the Ohio River in 1850. After the Fugitive Slave Law was passed ...

The Underground Railroad in Canada

From the early 19th century until the American Civil War, settlements along the Detroit and Niagara rivers were important terminals of the Underground Railroad. White and black abolitionists formed a heroic network dedicated to helping free and enslaved African Americans ...

The Underground Railroad on University Land

Along Lake Erie, Toledo, Sandusky, Cleveland, Fairport Harbor, and Ashtabula Harbor were major routes from slavery to freedom in Canada. Even though African Americans lived throughout the state, Ohio itself was not really safe. Slavery was sanctioned across the United ...

The Underground Railroad on University Land

Joseph Sullivant, a member of the first Board of Trustees of Ohio State, was known as a “friend of the colored race.” He grew up in Kentucky but developed a distaste for slavery after witnessing a slave auction. Another Ohio ...

The Underground Railroad on University Land

Along Lake Erie, Toledo, Sandusky, Cleveland, Fairport Harbor, and Ashtabula Harbor were major routes from slavery to freedom in Canada. Even though African Americans lived throughout the state, Ohio itself was not really safe. Slavery was sanctioned across the United ...