Description: This image shows a group of young women on an unidentified street in Ripley, Ohio, in Brown County. Ripley was an important stop in the 19th century for many fugitive slaves who stopped at the Rankin House (owned by John Rankin, a Presbyterian minister) as they made their way further north along the Underground Railroad. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SC652_001
Subjects: Underground Railroad; Historic sites Ohio; Historic houses; Women--Ohio; Brown County (Ohio)
Places: Ripley (Ohio); Brown County (Ohio)
 

Description: The Brown County courthouse in Georgetown, Ohio is shown in this photograph. The courthouse was designed by architects Hubbard Baker in 1849. The Greek Revival style building burned in 1977, but was later reconstructed. The courthouse is part of the Georgetown Historic District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The photograph measures 8" x 10" (20.32 x 25.4 cm). View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: Om3179_3928658_001
Subjects: Architecture; Ohio Government; Courthouses; National Register of Historic Places
Places: Georgetown (Ohio); Brown County (Ohio)
 

Description: This image shows the Ohio River and countryside near Ripley, Ohio. Ripley was an early stop on the Underground Railroad. The Ripley Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 7, 1985. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06490
Subjects: Ripley (Ohio); Brown County (Ohio); Underground Railroad--Ohio; National Register of Historic Places
Places: Ripley (Ohio); Brown County (Ohio)
 

Description: Women of Aberdeen, Brown County, Ohio, made this flag and presented it to Captain George B. Bailey of Company G, 1st Ohio Volunteers in 1861. Captain Bailey was killed in a battle in Guyandotte, Virginia, on November 10, 1861. The United States flag is made of silk. The colors are red, white and blue. General Kenneth Cooper, assistant adjutant general of Ohio, donated this flag in 1947. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: H65542_001
Subjects: Civil War 1861-1865; United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865; Flags--support
Places: Aberdeen (Ohio); Brown County (Ohio)
 

Description: Photographic reproduction of an engraving depicting a view of Ripley, Ohio, from the Kentucky side of the Ohio River. The house on the top of the hill possibly represents the home of abolitionist John Rankin. The print was published in the 1846 edition of "Historical Collections of Ohio" by Henry Howe. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL02872
Subjects: Brown County (Ohio); Cities and towns--Ohio
Places: Ripley (Ohio); Brown County (Ohio)
 

Description: Photograph of "Tobacco Harvest" painted by Richard Zoellner in 1938. Painting located in the post office in Georgetown, Ohio in Brown County. Photographed by Connie Girard in 1988. The photo is from the Ohio Post Office Artwork Collection, AV 48. The collection represents thirty murals or plaster reliefs installed in twenty-five Ohio post offices between 1937 and 1943. In 1988, Connie Girard photographed the artwork. Photos were published in the article “Not By Bread Alone, Post Office Art of the New Deal.” Timeline. June-July 1989, p. 2-19 by Gerald Markowitz and Marlene Park. In 1932, when Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected President he promised Americans a "New Deal" and created public works programs to provide jobs for the millions of unemployed people, including artists. Ten thousand unknown and established artists were commissioned by the government to create murals, paintings, photographs, posters, prints and sculpture. The goal was not only to employ artists, but also to bring fine art into the daily lives of all people. The Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) was funded for six months in 1933 – 1934. The PWAP was succeeded by the Treasury Department’s Section of Painting and Sculpture. Organized in 1934 the Section of Painting and Sculpture operated until 1943. Under the auspices of this organization sixty-six new Ohio post offices received artwork. The majority of the post offices were located in small towns. Post offices were chosen as a location for artwork because, particularly in small towns, they were centers of community activity. Most of the painted murals or murals in plaster relief created are realistic images reflecting the history, common activities or major industries of the communities in which the post offices are located. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: av48_b2_f18_01
Subjects: Post office stations and branches--Ohio--Photographs; Public art--Ohio--Photographs; Public Works of Art Project (United States); New Deal art
Places: Georgetown (Ohio); Brown County (Ohio)
 

Description: Map showing the boundaries of Ripley, Ohio, along the Ohio River, from "Atlas of Brown County, Ohio / from actual surveys by D. J. Lake and B. N. Griffing. To which is added a map of the State of Ohio, also an outline and rail road map of the United States and the hemispheres" (1876). Ripley is the site of the Rankin House, an important stop on the Underground Railroad in the decades preceding the Civil War. Home to Presbyterian minister and abolitionist John Rankin, the Rankin House stood on a 300-foot-high hill known as "Liberty Hill," which overlooked the Ohio River. Rankin would signal fugitive slaves in Kentucky with a lantern or candle, letting them know when it was safe to cross the river. To access Rankin's home on the hill, those seeking their freedom had to climb 100 wooden steps. Rankin would provide the former slaves with sanctuary, keeping them hidden until it was safe for them to travel further north. He likely moved from his home to Ironton in the late 1860s, several years before this map was made. The home is now a museum, part of the Ohio History Connection's statewide network of historic sites, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: A912_771_B812L_Ripley
Subjects: Rankin, John, 1793-1886; Ripley (Ohio); Underground Railroad--Ohio; Antislavery movements--Ohio--History--19th century; Maps;
Places: Ripley (Ohio); Brown County (Ohio);
 

Description: The barn shown here, on Rankin Hill in Ripley, Brown County, Ohio, had a secret cellar that owner John Rankin (1793-1886) used to hide fugitive slaves. The image was collected by Ohio State University professor Wilbur H. Siebert (1866-1961). Siebert began researching the Underground Railroad in the 1890s as a way to interest his students in history. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL03107
Subjects: Slavery--Ohio--History--19th century; Underground Railroad--Ohio; Underground Railroad--Ohio River Valley
Places: Ripley (Ohio); Brown County (Ohio)
 

Description: Reverend James Gilliland (1769-1845) was involved with the Underground Railroad at Red Oak, in Brown County, Ohio. While living in Kentucky, eleven members of the local Presbyterian Church petitioned against Gilliland's ordination because of his strong anti-slavery sentiment. Gilliland claimed that he was the first abolitionist to live in Brown County. The image was collected by Ohio State University professor Wilbur H. Siebert (1866-1961). Siebert began researching the Underground Railroad in the 1890s as a way to interest his students in history. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL03110
Subjects: Ohio History--Slavery, Anti-Slavery and Civil Rights; Underground Railroad--Ohio; Antislavery movements--Ohio--History--19th century; Abolitionists;
Places: Red Oak (Ohio); Brown County (Ohio)
 

Description: This view of the Ohio River is from Rankin Hill in Ripley, Brown County, Ohio. Fugitive slaves crossed the river from the southern states and John Rankin (1793-1886) was one of the Underground Railroad agents that helped hide them. The image was collected by Ohio State University professor Wilbur H. Siebert (1866-1961). Siebert began researching the Underground Railroad in the 1890s as a way to interest his students in history. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL03106
Subjects: Ohio River; Ohio History--Slavery, Anti-Slavery and Civil Rights; Underground Railroad--Ohio; Antislavery movements--Ohio--History--19th century; Abolitionists;
Places: Ripley (Ohio); Brown County (Ohio)
 

Description: Charles Cramer, of Brown County, was electrocuted November (?), 1930, for the murder of Robert Clem(?) of Brown County, Ohio. (Part of card is missing) He was a white male, age 31 and his occupation is unknown. According the list "Ohio Executions 1783 to 1963", the execution took place on November 10, 1930. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL08203
Subjects: Ohio History--State and Local Government--Law; Prisons--Ohio; Death row; Capital punishment--Ohio; Portrait photography
Places: Brown County (Ohio)
 

Description: This image shows the side facade of the Brown County Courthouse. This is one of the oldest surviving courthouses in Ohio and is the focal point of Georgetown, Ohio, the county seat. The Greek Revival building was constructed from 1849-1851 by architect Hubbard Baker, and transverse wings were added to the building in 1914. Despite a 1977 fire that almost destroyed the building, it remains intact. The courthouse is part of the Georgetown Historic District and is surrounded by early Federal style houses. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AV101_B01F01_045
Subjects: Courthouses--Ohio; National Register of Historic Places; clock towers; arches; Greek Revival
Places: Georgetown (Ohio); Brown County (Ohio); 101 S. Main St.