Underground Railroad Stations map

Map of Underground Railroad stations, showing locations of stations around Ohio as well as major routes that fugitive slaves took on their escape to freedom. From "Pathways of Progress, A Short History of Ohio" by David Bowman, 1943. The Underground Railroad was a system of safe houses and hiding places that helped fugitive slaves escape to freedom in Canada, Mexico, and elsewhere outside of the United States. Reportedly, people living in Ohio began to help those seeking their freedom as early as the 1810s, and many prominent abolitionists from Ohio played a vital role in the Underground Railroad. Historian Wilbur Siebert believes approximately 3,000 miles of Underground Railroad trails existed in Ohio