Description: The Rankin house was a stop on the Underground Railroad. The Rankin House was a stop on the Underground Railroad operated by John Rankin, a Presbyterian minister. From his home on top of Liberty Hill, Rankin would signal to fugitive slaves when it was safe to cross the Ohio River. After crossing the river from Kentucky, those seeking freedom then climbed 100 wooden steps to the house, where they were given shelter and food before continuing their journey to Canada. The house was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 9, 2012, and is part of the Ohio History Connection's statewide network of historic sites. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06588
Subjects: Rankin, John, 1793-1886; Rankin House; Underground Railroad--Ohio
Places: Ripley (Ohio); Brown County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph of John Rankin and his wife Jane (identified in some later records as Jean) Lowry Rankin was taken on the occasion of their 50th wedding anniversary. John Rankin (1793-1886) was a Presbyterian minister and educator who devoted much of his life to the antislavery movement. His house in Ripley, Ohio, was a stop on the Underground Railroad, and Rankin, along with his family and neighbors, is credited with helping 2,000 fugitive slaves escape to freedom. The house is situated at the top of a hill overlooking the Ohio River. Escaping slaves climbed the 100-step "Freedom Stairway" from the river to reach the house, which has several secret rooms in which slaves were hidden. A light was placed in the window of the house to indicaten when it was safe for slaves to approach. The John Rankin House is now a museum, part of the Ohio History Connection's statewide network of historic sites. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: Om1277_781136_122
Subjects: Rankin, John, 1793-1886; Abolitionists -- Ohio; Civil Liberties; Underground Railroad; Religion in Ohio; Rankin House
Places: Ripley (Ohio); Brown County (Ohio)
 

Description: This illustration depicts the Ohio town of Ripley from the Kentucky side of the Ohio River. Ripley was an important station on the Underground Railroad. John Rankin, whose house can be seen on the hill, was a prominent abolitionist who helped many slaves escape north to freedom. This picture appears in "Historical Collections of Ohio," published by Henry Howe in 1909. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL04194
Subjects: Ripley (Ohio); Underground Railroad--Ohio; Ohio History--Slavery, Anti-Slavery and Civil Rights; Rankin, John, 1793-1886
Places: Ripley (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: This 8" x 10" (20.32 x 25.4 cm) photograph was taken from the John Rankin House near Ripley, Ohio. The house, located on a hill overlooking the Ohio River, provided Reverend John Rankin with a view into Kentucky, a slaveholding state. Fugitive slaves who crossed the Ohio River from Kentucky were welcome at the Rankin House. The John Rankin House later became a museum, part of the Ohio History Connection's statewide network of historic sites. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Rankin and his family are credited with helping thousands of slaves escape to freedom. John Rankin (1793-1886) was a Presbyterian minister and educator who devoted much of his life to the antislavery movement. His home has several secret rooms in which fugitive slaves were hidden. A light was placed in the window of the house to indicate that it was safe for slaves to approach. The character of Eliza in Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin" was reportedly inspired by a story of a woman who crossed the partially-frozen Ohio River with a baby in her arms, making it safely to Rankin's house. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: Om3178_3813005_001
Subjects: Civil Liberties; African American Ohioans; Architecture; Geography and Natural Resources; Underground Railroad; Ohio River; Fugitive slaves; Rankin, John, 1793-1886
Places: Ripley (Ohio); Brown County (Ohio)
 

Description: This 2.75" x 2.75" (6.99 x 6.99 cm) slide of the John Rankin House near Ripley, Ohio, was taken in the 1960s. The John Rankin House later became a museum, part of the Ohio History Connection's statewide network of historic sites. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Rankin House, in Ripley, Ohio, was an Underground Railroad stop run by Presbyterian minister John Rankin with his wife and neighbors. The 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 Ohio River. To access Rankin's home on top of Liberty 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. John Rankin is believed to have provided shelter and food to as many as 2,000 fugitive slaves during his career with the Underground Railroad; according to several accounts, none of those whom Rankin helped were ever returned to slavery. Harriet Beecher Stowe immortalized Rankin's efforts to help African Americans in her book, "Uncle Tom's Cabin." Rankin's home was the first stop in Ohio for Eliza, one of the book's main characters, as she sought freedom in the North. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: Om3005_3631854_001
Subjects: Antislavery movements--Ohio--History--19th century; Civil Liberties; African American Ohioans; Architecture; Underground Railroad; Fugitive slaves; Rankin, John, 1793-1886; National Register of Historic Places
Places: Ripley (Ohio); Brown County (Ohio)