Restored Rankin House photograph   Save
Ohio History Connection
Description: Photograph of the restored John Rankin House in Ripley, Ohio. John Rankin (1793-1886) was a Presbyterian minister and educator who devoted much of his life to the antislavery movement. He is credited with helping 2,000 slaves escape to freedom. It has been said that a light was placed in the window of his house to indicate when 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. The John Rankin House is now a museum, part of the Ohio History Connection's statewide network of historic sites. The current steps were put in place in the 1990s. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SC1591_01
Subjects: Ohio History--Slavery, Anti-Slavery and Civil Rights; Underground Railroad--Ohio; Civil Liberties; Rankin House; Antislavery movements--Ohio--History--19th century
Places: Ripley (Ohio); Brown County (Ohio)