John Rankin House, Underground Railroad station house museum in Ripley, United States.
The John Rankin House is a brick building from the early 19th century set on a hilltop at the edge of Ripley, Ohio, open today as a house museum and National Historic Landmark. The interior features a center hall plan with four rooms on the ground floor, still showing original wide wooden floorboards.
The house was built in 1828 and became the home of Presbyterian minister John Rankin, who along with his family spent several decades helping people escape slavery through their property. It operated as one of the better-known stops along what later came to be called the Underground Railroad.
A lantern placed in the window of the house served as a signal to freedom seekers crossing the Ohio River at night, and that tradition is still remembered during guided tours today. The house draws visitors who come specifically to stand in the rooms where the Rankin family made their choices and to walk the same steep path that others once climbed in fear.
The museum opens seasonally from spring through fall with limited hours on weekdays, and visits are done through guided tours rather than self-guided walks. The hilltop location requires a moderate uphill walk, so comfortable footwear is a good idea.
Harriet Beecher Stowe, who wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin, is said to have drawn on accounts shared by the Rankin family when shaping her novel. Some historians believe the character of Eliza crossing the ice was directly inspired by a real story that John Rankin had documented.
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