John Rankin House photograph

Home of abolitionist John Rankin in Ripley, Ohio, ca. 1950-1970. The house, built in 1828, sits on a hill overlooking the Ohio River and served as an important stop on the Underground Railroad. Rankin and his wife Jane (identified in some later records as Jean) worked with their neighbors to assist thousands of slaves to escape to freedom. The house was purchased by the state of Ohio in 1938 and ten years later the Ohio Historical Society opened the refurbished site to the public. It is now a National Historic Landmark