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Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Hilltop View
Ohio History
Down the Rankin Stairs
Here is that awesome view from the Rankin house—five miles up and down the Ohio! Runaway slaves waiting to cross the river at night could easily see the hilltop signal light. If the candle in the window was lit, the river was clear of slave hunters and slaves could safely cross. No light meant wait til another night. After crossing the river in skiffs, the fugitives were led through Ripley to these stairs leading up the hill to the Rankin house. Here they would be fed and hidden till they could move on to a station further north.
6 comments:
Anonymous
said...
I wonder what that felt like to be a slave on the verge of freedom.
Yes, I believe John Rankin picked this spot as a key signal point for the Underground Railroad. He was already a strong abolitionist when he moved here because of the opposition where he lived in slave states.
6 comments:
I wonder what that felt like to be a slave on the verge of freedom.
Kind of chilling to think of a river being the only separating line between slavery and freedom.
That sure is high up, it would have been something to live up there all the time. I guess it would have never flooded,though.
Visit the Underground Railroad Museum for more background. Sobering dramatic re-enactment of slave escape.
Did John Rankin choose the location of his house with the Underground Railroad in mind?
Yes, I believe John Rankin picked this spot as a key signal point for the Underground Railroad. He was already a strong abolitionist when he moved here because of the opposition where he lived in slave states.
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