Above is a sculpture on the campus of Oberlin College perhaps symbolizing the emergence of the Underground Railroad in Ohio. Oberlin was a key junction on the Underground Railroad that connected 5 different routes escaping slaves could have taken. No fugitive living in Oberlin was ever returned to bondage.

The Underground Railroad in Ohio

Although there were Underground Railroad networks throughout the country, even in the South, Ohio had the most active network of any other state with around 3000 miles of network. It's not clear when the term Underground Railroad was first used, but sometime around the 1830s is when actual railroads first started becoming a form of transportation in the country. Prior to that information about railroads was not wide-spread. For example, the Internet was around in the 1980s, but most people were not familiar with this technology until much later.

There was of course, no railroad with the Underground Railroad, nor was there any underground subway-type system in place. The term Underground was used, because this activity of helping escaping slaves was against the law and therefore these activities had to be concealed. The term railroad was used because those people involved in the activities used terms commonly associated with railroads, to describe different aspects of their activities.

• Slaves were called cargo or passengers.

• Hiding places or safe houses were called stations

• Guides leading the escaping slaves were called conductors

• People helping the escaping slaves, but not guiding them, were called agents

• People providing financial resources for these activities were called stockholders

As physical railroads became more widespread, using the same terminology associated with the railroad, to the Underground Railroad allowed people involved in the Underground Railroad to talk about their activities in the open without fear of being handed over to the authorities by someone who happened to overhear a conversation. Of course, at the time, these activities and terminology were not known outside the network.

In some areas of the country different terminology was used such as "the freedom train" or "the gospel train." In Ohio, the Underground Railroad was the most commonly used terminology by the 1850s. It should be remembered that this network was not operated by any one individual or group and that not everyone, even recognized Abolitionists were willing to help an escaping slave. This made any attempt at escaping from slavery a very dangerous proposition. Captured slaves were often mistreated by their captors, and when they were returned to the plantation and farms from where they had escaped, it was up to the Plantation owner to administer further punishment.

Journey's End

Escaping slaves were looking for a haven where they could live, with their families, without the fear of being chained in captivity. The only sure location was in Canada, but this destination was by no means the best choice. Once an escaped slave reached Canada's shores, they found life there extremely difficult, with no work, and strong segregation. Freed slaves after arriving in Canada, often returned to Ohio where they could set up small enclaves of freed slaves in areas that were uninhabited and try to remain as inconspicuous as possible.

In Ohio there were 10 ports of exit commonly used, with the most often used exit points being Toledo, Sandusky, Cleveland, Fairport Harbor, and Ashtabula Harbor.

Blacks made the railroad work

The most important aspect of the Underground Railroad was the fact that escaping slaves made the railroad possible. If it wasn't for their courage, determination and ingenuity, the railroad would only have been a minor footnote in our country's history.

For most of the escaping slaves, they had to not only get away from their owner's land, but all the lands between them and the Ohio River as well as all the other entry points between the slave and free states.

It was the decision these people made to escape the tyranny of their oppressors that made them a special type of person. Not only did they have to avoid their former owners, but also the slave-catchers that scoured the countryside in search of runaways. These roaming bands of bounty hunters had become a big business that paid big dividends when a runaway could be captured and returned.

Hiding in the woods by daylight and traveling only at night, the escaping slaves had a difficult journey. Until they reached a border state, they had to provide their own sustenance. Then once they crossed the Ohio River, they had to make contact with someone they didn't know, and hope that they would provide them shelter and help them with their long journey that still laid ahead.

Winter was the most active time for escaping slaves. That was when the Ohio River regularly froze over and made it possible for the runaways to cross the river without a boat. It was also more dangerous. Just looking at the river itself and not counting the extremely cold temperatures, the ice was often more like large chunks of floating ice that required carefully footing, at night, to make it safely across the river.

Slaves that had already made the journey to freedom, would often go back repeatedly to help others, at great risk to their own safety and freedom.

Additional information about Ohio and the Underground Railroad>>