Cincinnati OH, Detroit MI, Puce Ontario, St. Catherines Ontario, Toronto Ontario, and Niagara Falls Ontario Canada

Cincinnati Ohio

The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center opened in 2004 and is located near the Ohio River, a critical route for those seeking freedom from slavery in the south. Cincinnati played a vital role in the Underground Railroad, serving as a refuge for many escaping enslaved who crossed the Ohio River from the Southern States to seek freedom in the Northern States. The National UGRR Freedom Center aims to honor this history.

Exhibits

The center houses various permanent and traveling exhibits that utilize storytelling, film, artwork, and hands-on activities to engage visitors. Key exhibits include:

• The Slave Pen: A significant artifact reconstructed within the center, representing the harsh realities of slavery.


• The Struggle Continues: This exhibit highlights ongoing challenges faced by African Americans and advocates for freedom worldwide. The John Parker Library: A resource for visitors to explore multimedia materials related to the UGGR. The National UGRR Freedom Center is a must visit destination for those interested in American History, social justice, and the ongoing fight for human rights. It serves as a powerful reminder of the resilience of those who sought freedom and continues to inspire visitors to reflect on the meaning of freedom in their own lives.

John Rankin House

Visit

We will take a guided tour of the the newly restored home of Rev. John Rankin, located on a bluff overlooking the Ohio River, and learn how the Rankin family and their neighbors in Ripley and other nearby communities helped the enslaved on their path to freedom via the Underground Railroad.

At this National Historic Landmark, you can step inside one of the best-documented and most active Underground Railroad “stations” in Ohio and get the story of Ohio’s role in the abolitionist movement that set the stage for the end of slavery as well as the modern Civil Rights movement.

The historic town of Ripley is part of the Ohio River Scenic Byway and has a 55-acre historic district that’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Walk Front Street and enjoy the sites and sounds of river life.

John Rankin wasn’t the only famous abolitionist in Ripley. You can also visit the John Parker House, home of an African American inventor and active conductor on the Underground Railroad who helped hundreds make their way to freedom.

The Parker House is a National Historic Landmark, home of African-American abolitionist, John Parker.

John Parker advanced his status from former slave to successful patented inventor and businessman in Ripley before the Civil War, is credited with assisting virtually hundreds of slaves to make their way north to freedom through his Front Street home.

John P. Parker was born into slavery in 1827, the son of a black woman and white plantation owner. He knew first-hand the scourge of being bought and sold and used like an animal. At age eight he was sold, chained to other slaves, and made to walk ragged and barefoot from his original home in Virginia to Mobile, Alabama. On this journey his spirit was ignited with the anger and hatred of bondage that would fuel his life-long passion for helping others to freedom.

In Mobile, Parker was sold to a doctor. There he was taught illegally by the doctor’s sons to read. Several years later, Parker made multiple daring attempts at escape, but was returned to Mobile. His last ‘owner’ allowed him to purchase his freedom in 1845 by earning extra money at a foundry. Parker moved to Ohio, married Miranda Boulden of Cincinnati, and eventually settled in Ripley by 1849. Ripley was a thriving abolitionist town, with over 300 members in the Ripley Anti-Slavery Society.

In Ripley, Parker continued his iron foundry work during the day and helped fugitive slaves escape at night. Parker frequently crossed the Ohio River to bring across fugitive slaves into Ohio, keeping the Underground Railroad filled with passengers.

Parker was well-known for his activities, and there was a $1000 price on his head in Kentucky. During the Civil War, Parker was a major recruiter for the 27th Ohio Volunteer Infantry (Colored) Regiment.

Detroit MI

The Underground Railroad was an early 1800s to 1865 secret network of financial, spiritual, and material aid for formerly enslaved people on their path from plantations in the American South to freedom in Canada. Freedom seekers generally made their way on foot, often at night, from one town to the next. Upon arrival, they were met by sympathizers known as “conductors” or “stockholders.” Conductors of all backgrounds risked their livelihood for human freedom by hiding slaves in their houses, barns, attics, cellars, churches, shops and sheds. In defiance of the Fugitive Slave Act, these individuals provided freedom seekers with food and a place to sleep. They also facilitated transfer to the subsequent “stop,” or Underground Railroad shelter. Detroit, codenamed “Midnight,” was one of the last “stops” on the Railroad before attaining freedom in Canada.

The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 ensured that even if “runaway” slaves arrived in free states in the North, they could be captured and sent back to the slave holders. However, Canada, which lay only one mile across the Detroit River, prohibited slavery, offering full liberation and safety.

Secrecy was essential because under the same Act, even in Northern states, individuals found collaborating with freedom seekers could be heavily fined and sometimes imprisoned. Therefore, flags and lanterns became clandestine signals, verbal language carried code and handbills and newspapers were often encrypted with Railroad symbols.

Seymour Finney was a prominent Detroit Underground Railroad conductor. As the owner of the Finney Hotel in downtown Detroit, he was able to aid the formerly enslaved by housing them in his nearby stable. One of most notable abolitionists in Detroit’s network was George DeBaptiste. Born a free man in Virginia in 1814, he relocated to Detroit as an adult. A respected entrepreneur and business leader, he owned a barbershop and a bakery in Detroit before purchasing the steamship T. Whitney, which he used to secretly transport slaves from Detroit to Canada. DeBaptiste also formed a secret organization known as African-American Mysteries or Order of the Men of Oppression, which worked with the Underground Railroad in Detroit.

Detroit’s Second Baptist Church, Michigan’s first Black congregation, was established in 1836 when 13 freed slaves split from the First Baptist Church. First located on Fort Street, the congregation moved in 1857 to its current location in Greektown. The church became a vital station on the Underground Railroad, and for over 30 years housed an estimated 5,000 freedom seekers. Abolitionist leaders including Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, and John Brown worked with Second Baptist. Members of the congregation founded two anti-slavery organizations, The Amherstburg Baptist Association and the Canadian Anti-Slavery Baptist Organization.

Detroit was one of the most critical stops on the Underground Railroad, because it was generally the final stop before achieving freedom. There are at least seven known paths that led freedom seekers from various points in Michigan to the Canadian shore and it is estimated that 200 Underground Railroad stops existed throughout Michigan between the 1820s and 1865. The Underground Railroad ended in 1865 with the end of the Civil War and the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery.

Puce Ontario Canada

John Freeman Walls worked at the Walls's plantation on Troublesome Creek, in Rockingham County, North Carolina, It was here that he became good friends with Daniel Walls, the slave owner's son and his wife Jane King Walls. When Daniel was on his deathbed he freed John and placed Jane and their children under the care of John.

In 1845, John and Jane left a life of slavery and oppression and fled towards Detroit Michigan, in search of a new life. The Walls family crossed Lake Erie in a steam boat the Pearl and arrived in Amherstburg, Ontario, in 1846. The two were abolitionists who fought against the institution of slavery. Their inter-racial relationship (John being black and Jane being white) caused controversy after they arrived, and they often received stares. Upon their arrival, the two toured various settlements and decided to live in Puce settlement, where the Refugee Home Society, had recently purchased land to sell back to Freedom Seekers. The two purchased a 12-acre property and settle at 859 East Puce Road in Puce. They built a log cabin and acquired more than 200 acres of land. The Walls had six children at Puce. John was a carpenter.

The couple had many Quaker friends who assisted in smuggling fugitives by dressing them up in women's costumes. One of the most well known was Levi Coffin,a Quaker from Cincinnati who became known as the President of The Underground Railroad for his valiant crusade against slavery. The site evolved into a terminal station for the Underground Railroad where they welcomed many fugitives of slavery and helped them to begin a free life in southwestern Ontario.

The site was first recognized by the government for its historical significance after one of Walls' descendants, their great-great grandson Dr. Bryan E. Walls, wrote a historical novel in 1976 called The Road that Led to Somewhere, a novel which chronicled the Walls' original journey to the settlement and their involvement in the Underground Railroad. The novel created interest in the Walls' story, and in 1985, the John Freeman Walls Historic Site and Underground Railroad Museum was opened. The current site now operates as a history museum. It contains Walls' original log cabin, the Walls' family cemetery, as well as the Historic Walkway, an overgrown brush trail that recreates the natural setting Freedom Seekers would have had to contend with.

The Canadian Terminus

An estimated 30,000 to 40,000 freedom seekers entered Canada during the last decades of enslavement in the US. Between 1850 and 1860 alone, 15,000 to 20,000 fugitives reached the Province of Canada. It became the main terminus of the Underground Railroad. The newcomers migrated to various parts of what is now Ontario. This included Niagara Falls, Buxton, Chatham, Owen Sound, Hamilton, Brantford, London, Oakville, St. Catherines and Toronto. They also fled to other regions of British North America such as New Brunswick, Quebec, and Nova Scotia. After this mass Black Canadians migration, helped build strong communities and contributed to the development of the provinces in which they lived and worked.