| A National
Historic Landmark, this was the home of Presbyterian minister John
Rankin who is reputed to have been one of Ohio's first and most
active "conductors" on the Underground Railroad. In
addition, he wrote Letters on American Slavery, first
published in book form in 1826, and among the first clearly
articulated antislavery views printed west of the Appalachians. Letters
on American Slavery became standard reading for abolitionists
all over the United States by the 1830s. From 1822 to 1865, Rankin,
along with his wife and children, assisted hundreds of escaped
slaves in their trek to freedom. Located on the Ohio River, John
Rankin's home (and Ripley, Ohio in general) were considered one of
the first stations on this route of the Underground Railroad. It was
here that Harriet Beecher Stowe heard the escaping slave's story
which became the basis for part of her famous work, Uncle Tom's
Cabin. John
Parker, a Ripley abolitionist and former slave who was active in
the Underground Railroad, wrote of Rankin, "At times attacked
on all sides by masters seeking their slaves, [John Rankin and his
sons] beat back their assailant, and held its threshold unsullied. A
lighted candle stood as a beacon which could be seen from across the
river, and like the north star was the guide to the fleeing
slave."
The entrance road, Rankin
Road, to the Rankin House runs northeast off of State Route 52 at
the northeast edge of Ripley in Brown County.
Rankin House
Ripley Heritage, Inc.
P.O. Box 176
Ripley, OH 45167
PHONE:
937-392-1627
1-800-752-2705 (toll free)
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