Browse Items (23 total)

Born into slavery on the plantation of John D. Brown in Henrico County, Virginia, Caroline Brown came to Columbus with her son Edward and daugther Constantia in the 1850s. Edward built this house for his mother around 1854.

Location: 1200 E.…

In 1852 Alexander Livingston purchased seventy acres of land, where he established a seed garden business, and eventually improved the tomato. Livingston's farm provided hiding for escaped slaves. His employee, Benjamin Patterson, drove Livingston’s…

David Graham's home on Eppworth Street was built in 1858 and served as a stop on the Underground Railroad.

Location: 1312 Eppworth Street, Reynoldburg, Ohio

Henry and Dolly Turk were the first African-American family to live in Worthington beginning in 1856. They paid $250 for two lots on the northeast corner of Evening and New England. Henry had purchased Dolly's freedom from her master in Virginia in…

Known as the white house on the bend of the creek, this home was built in 1841. The home includes a basement tunnel that has collapsed but likely led to nearby Alum Creek. It also has has a hidden crawl space, large enough to hold three people, off…

This home was built between 1837-1840 at the northwest corner of High and North Street in Worthington. The house was moved to its present location, 72 E. North Street, in 1932. While on High Street, the property was owned by Ansel Mattoon, who…

Johann Christian Heyl was the first German in Columbus. He served on City Council for 14 years, was County Treasurer for 8 years, an associate judge in the Court of Common Pleas for 14 years, was appointed to the first public school board, and was…

Marker Text: Bishop William Hanby, (1807-1880) courageous and of strong convictions, publicly voiced his scorn at a law that made it a felony to give food to a hungry slave, or shelter to a friendless man. From pulpit, platform, and workbench he…

Marker Text:
Side A: Sharp Family Homes
The Sharp family homes and their locations on N. State Street and Africa Road mark an important route through Westerville on the Underground Railroad. The family patriarch, Garrit Sharp, was an original…

Hannibal H. Kimball used his two-story barn to hide runaways until he could get them to the barn of Samuel Chamberlain further east.

Location: 452 Kimball Place, Columbus, Ohio

Built in 1856, this property was encircled by mounds built by the Adena Indians. It contained two "blind rooms" in the basement.

Location: 3845 Westerville Road, Columbus, Ohio

Ozem Gardner came to Ohio from Otsego County, New York in 1817. An active member of the Worthington Anti-Slavery Society, he operated an underground railroad station from his home on Flint Road. He traveled the area selling fresh vegetables with…

This home was built by Robert Neil in 1856 and later owned by his brother Henry Neil. Ambrose and Catherine Juris were servants for the Neil family for many years. The cellar contains a small enclosed room that may have been used to hide runaway…

Rev. Jason Bull conducted services in the Clinton Chapel (Methodist Episcopal Church) at this site while his daughter took food and water to runaways hidden in an interior room.

Location: 3100 N. High Street, Columbus, Ohio

Marker Text:
Side A: The Underground Railroad was neither underground nor a railroad, but a system of loosely connected safe havens where those escaping the brutal conditions of slavery were sheltered, fed, clothed, nursed, concealed, disguised, and…