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: C.T. Weber created this painting of Levi Coffin and his wife "Aunt Katie" (Catherine Coffin) receiving a company of fugitive slaves outside of Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio. The painting was done in 1893 for the Columbian World's Exposition in Chicago, Illinois. 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: AL03134
Subjects: Women abolitionists - Ohio; Underground Railroad--Ohio; Ohio History--Slavery, Anti-Slavery and Civil Rights
Places: Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio)
 

Description: Jane Robinson (1783-1875?) was an Underground Railroad Operator at Emerson (now Mt. Pleasant) in Jefferson County, Ohio. 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: AL03143
Subjects: Women abolitionists - Ohio; Underground Railroad; Ohio History--Slavery, Anti-Slavery and Civil Rights
Places: Mount Pleasant (Ohio); Jefferson County (Ohio)
 

Description: The Langstons, an African-American family, kept an Underground Railroad station at their home, pictured here, in Chillicothe, Ross County, Ohio. This photograph was taken by Diathea C. Scholl. 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: AL03189
Subjects: African Americans--Ohio; Underground Railroad; Ohio History--Slavery, Anti-Slavery and Civil Rights
Places: Chillicothe (Ohio); Ross County (Ohio)
 

Description: Reproduction of a portrait depicting Rebecca Millhouse Cope (b. 1808), who kept a station on the Underground Railroad with her husband Joseph in Smithfield in Jefferson County, Ohio. 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: AL03138
Subjects: Women abolitionists - Ohio; Underground Railroad; Ohio History--Slavery, Anti-Slavery and Civil Rights
Places: Smithfield (Ohio); Jefferson County (Ohio)
 

Description: Portrait of Mary C. Thorne, who worked with her husband Thomas Thorne to aid fugitive slaves to freedom in Canada on the Underground Railroad. 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: AL03127
Subjects: Women abolitionists - Ohio; Underground Railroad; Ohio History--Slavery, Anti-Slavery and Civil Rights
Places: Greene County (Ohio)
 

Description: Caption reads: “Negative of Stringer Mansion. Jefferson County.” The Stringer House, located at 224 Warren Avenue in Rayland, Ohio, was built by wealthy abolitionist John Brown Bayless in 1836. Bayless was an abolitionist from Maryland who moved to the area with his wife and several black servants who were granted freedom but did not leave his household. The home is said to have been part of the Underground Railroad--escaping slaves traveling to Mount Pleasant used a tunnel that spanned from the house to the nearby river. Jefferson D. Stringer bought the house in 1860. Rutherford B. Hayes was believed to be among the guests of the mansion before becoming governor. The mansion was destroyed by a fire in 1982. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B15F03_004_01
Subjects: Stringer, J. D.; Architecture; Stone architecture, Domestic--Ohio; Underground Railroad
Places: Rayland (Ohio); Jefferson County (Ohio)
 

Description: Caption reads: "Interior of "Slave Tunnel." (No. 2) At the top is a kind of vestibule beneath the house, with a trap door leading to one of the porches and another door giving access to the basement. (Grace Goulder states these are not slave tunnels.)" View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B02F02_024_1
Subjects: Underground Railroad--Ohio.; Ohio Underground Railroad Association; Underground Railroad--Ohio--Maps.
Places: Ohio
 

Description: Caption reads: "Interior of "Slave Tunnel." (No. 2) At the top is a kind of vestibule beneath the house, with a trap door leading to one of the porches and another door giving access to the basement." View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B02F02_023_1
Subjects: Underground Railroad--Ohio; Ohio Underground Railroad Association; Underground Railroad--Sources
Places: Ohio
 

Description: Seth Lukens lived in the Kulpsville, Pennsylvania, house shown here during the days of the Underground Railroad. Lukens used the house as a station to harbor fugitive slaves on their escape north. The image, taken in 1931, 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: AL03202
Subjects: Underground Railroad--Pennsylvania; Slavery--Ohio--History--19th century; Underground Railroad--Ohio
Places: Kulpsville (Pennsylvania); Montgomery County (Pennsylvania)
 

Description: The focus of this photograph is a statue of William Woodward (1768-1833), who together with his wife, Abigail, donated a parcel of land that would become the site of Woodward High School, Cincinnati, Ohio. This statue was located on the grounds of that institution, the first public high school west of the Alleghenies. In 1826 William and Abigail (Cutter) Woodward donated the land on which a school would be built. A year later they established a trust to fund a free school that would educate poor children in the area. It was one of the first public schools in the country. However, within a few years the growth of public schools for elementary education caused Woodward to change his plans for the school and to make it a high school. A two-story building was constructed to house the new Woodward High School, which opened in October 1831. A collegiate department was added in 1836, and the school's name was changed to Woodward College of Cincinnati. In 1855 a new building replaced the original structure. The school became part of Cincinnati's public school system, the older school and college having ceased operation because the Woodward Trust was out of money. In 1860 the remains of William and Abigail Woodward were moved from their original burial place to the school property. The statue of William Woodward was dedicated on October 24, 1878. In 1907 this building was razed to make way for a new five-story school, the one pictured in this photograph. During the early 1950s, the high school moved to a new site, and this building was renamed "Abigail Cutter Junior High School." From 1973 to 2010 it was the site of the School for the Performing and Creative Arts. From 1856-1863, the home of Levi and Catherine Coffin was also located on this site. Both were legendary abolitionists who helped enslaved people escape to freedom in Canada. Levi is often referred to as the "President of the Underground Railroad." View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06174
Subjects: Woodward High School (Cincinnati, Ohio); Education--Ohio; Cincinnati Public Schools; Statues--Ohio; Coffin, Levi, 1798-1877; Underground Railroad--Ohio
Places: Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph shows an exterior view of Woodward High School in Cincinnati, Ohio, ca. 1935-1943. The school is surrounded by an iron fence next to a sidewalk. Streetlights, utility poles, and wires are visible. In 1826 William Woodward (1768-1833) and his wife, Abigail, donated a parcel of land that would become the site of Woodward High School, Cincinnati, Ohio. A year later they established a trust to fund a free school that would educate poor children in the area. However, within a few years the growth of public schools for elementary education caused Woodward to change his plans for the school and to make it a high school. A two-story building was constructed to house the new Woodward High School, which opened in October 1831. A collegiate department was added in 1836, and the school's name was changed to Woodward College of Cincinnati. In 1855 a new building replaced the original structure. The school became part of Cincinnati's public school system. In 1860 the remains of William and Abigail Woodward were moved from their original burial place to the school property. The statue of William Woodward was dedicated on October 24, 1878. In 1907 this building was razed to make way for a new five-story school, the one pictured in this photograph. During the early 1950s, the high school moved to a new site, and this building was renamed "Abigail Cutter Junior High School." From 1973 to 2010, it was the site of the School for the Performing and Creative Arts. From 1856-1863, the home of Levi and Catherine Coffin was also located on this site. Both were legendary abolitionists who helped enslaved people escape to freedom in Canada. Levi is often referred to as the "President of the Underground Railroad." View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06175
Subjects: Woodward High School (Cincinnati, Ohio); Education--Ohio; Cincinnati Public Schools; Statues--Ohio; Coffin, Levi, 1798-1877; Underground Railroad--Ohio
Places: Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio)