Rankin House

Ohio History

Underground Railroad Station

The setting of this trip is on the Ohio River again, but now we're in the divisive era of slavery. The invincible Rankin House stands on the hill overlooking Ripley, a key station on the Underground Railroad. This secret network helped slaves escape from the South to freedom in Canada. John Rankin was an active “conductor” on the Underground Railroad and hid a total of 2,000+ slaves in his home. Ripley was the first stop after runaway slaves crossed the Ohio River into free territory. However, they could be still be returned to their masters even here; only in Canada were they really free.