Description: Photographic reproduction of a portrait of abolitionist John Rankin from Ripley, Ohio. The reproduction was created in May 1910. Rankin and his wife Jane (identified in some later records as Jean) worked with their neighbors to assist thousands of slaves to escape to freedom on the Underground Railroad. Their house in Ripley was an important stop on the route to freedom. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL02867
Subjects: Abolitionists; Brown County (Ohio); Ohio History--Slavery, Anti-Slavery and Civil Rights
Places: Ripley (Ohio); Brown County (Ohio)
 

Description: Daguerreotype portrait of Adam Rankin, the son of Ripley, Ohio, abolitionist John Rankin, ca. 1840-1849. John Rankin established the Ohio Anti-Slavery Society in 1835 and founded Ripley College in 1829. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL02868
Subjects: Abolitionists; Underground Railroad--Ohio; Ohio History--Slavery, Anti-Slavery and Civil Rights
 

Description: Photographic reproduction of a portrait of Ripley, Ohio, abolitionists John and Jane Rankin with ten of their children. Mrs. John Rankin is identified as Jane in U.S. Census records and the Rankin's Tennessee state marriage record. Later sources have recorded her name as Jean. This reproduction is an enlarged version of an earlier photograph. A tax stamp on the back indicates that the reproduction was made in January 1866.; the original photograph was likely taken ca. 1861-1865. Rankin and his wife worked with their neighbors to assist thousands of slaves to escape to freedom on the Underground Railroad. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL02869
Subjects: Abolitionists -- Ohio; Ohio History--Slavery, Anti-Slavery and Civil Rights; Underground Railroad--Ohio
Places: Ripley (Ohio); Brown County (Ohio)
 

Description: Photograph of the house of abolitionist John Rankin of Ripley, Ohio, as it appeared in the early twentieth century. 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: AL02871
Subjects: Ohio History--Slavery, Anti-Slavery and Civil Rights; Underground Railroad--Ohio; Abolitionists; Antislavery movements--Ohio--History--19th century
Places: Ripley (Ohio); Brown County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph depicts M. M. Murphy, a conductor for the Underground Railroad and the last of the Ripley Flat-boat men, sitting outside of the Rankin House in Ripley, Ohio. The house was owned by John Rankin, a Presbyterian minister. Up until the American Civil War, Rankin dedicated his life to abolishing slavery. After spending several years as a minister and abolitionist in Kentucky, he moved to Ripley to continue his anti-slavery work. He most likely moved into this home in 1825, where he continued to serve as a conductor on the Underground Railroad. Rankin's home 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 for them 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 fugitive slaves with sanctuary, keeping them hidden until it was safe for them to travel. Rankin is believed to have provided shelter and food to as many as 2,000 former 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. Today, the Rankin house is home to a museum operated by the Ohio History Connection. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SC652_003
Subjects: Ohio History--Slavery, Anti-Slavery and Civil Rights; Underground Railroad--Ohio; Antislavery movements--Ohio--History--19th century; Historic houses; Brown County (Ohio);
Places: Ripley (Ohio); Brown County (Ohio)
 

Description: Women marching during a "Take Back the Night" event down North High Street, a major thoroughfare in Columbus, Ohio, May 15, 1993. This photograph was taken by a photographer for publication in the Columbus Free Press newspaper. The Columbus Free Press began as a bi-weekly publication in Columbus, Ohio, in 1970. An underground newspaper, it replaced the Ohio State University publication The People, Yes. The earliest known issue of the newspaper appeared on January 4, 1971. The newspaper underwent a series of name changes over the decades, with titles including the Columbus Free Press & Cowtown Times (1972-1976), the Columbus Freepress (1976-1992) and The Free Press (1992-1995). The paper, which covered many liberal and progressive causes, was an alternative to mainstream news sources in central Ohio with the slogan “The Other Side of the News.” In 1995, the paper ceased publication briefly before reemerging as a website in early 1996, and returning as a print publication under the Free Press title in the form of a quarterly journal in 1998. Published under various frequencies during the first part of the 21st century, the Free Press again became a nonprofit monthly publication in 2017 with both a print and web presence, published by the Columbus Institute for Contemporary Journalism and operated by a volunteer staff and board. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL01094
Subjects: Civil rights; Protests and protestors; Ohio women; Social issues; Public safety;
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)
 

Description: This picture shows Will Rankin, son of Reverend John Rankin, the Presbyterian minister and abolitionist who ran an underground railroad stop, the Rankin House, in Ripley, Ohio. 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: SC3799_005
Subjects: Underground Railroad; Brown County (Ohio); Abolitionists -- Ohio; Ohio History--Slavery, Anti-Slavery and Civil Rights
Places: Ripley (Ohio); Brown County (Ohio)