How Cincinnati played a role in the Underground Railroad, path to freedom

Anchor/Reporter

CINCINNATI —

As the United States commemorates its 250th anniversary, sister station WLWT is highlighting the pivotal role Ohio played in the American abolitionist movement as a free state that bordered slave states like Kentucky and Virginia.

Before slavery was abolished in 1865, more enslaved people crossed over the Ohio River to freedom than any other part of the country, but getting to that other side wasn’t the end.

“Cincinnati has a history of helping those that were in trouble, but they also have a history of holding those people back that was enslaved,” Novella Nimmo-Black with the Underground Railroad Freedom Center said.

A city of seven hills, the Queen City or Porkopolis – Cincinnati’s many names carry deep history, dating back to before the Civil War.

“Ohio became a state in 1803. It became a free state by one vote only,” Nimmo-Black said.

That crucial vote would cast this city on the Ohio River into the history books as the promised land for enslaved people journeying to freedom.

“The Ohio River runs from West Virginia all the way into the mighty Mississippi, and at the time of enslavement, they hadn’t put a dam in it,” Nimmo-Black said. “So, during the fall and winter, there would be certain pockets in that river that would go so low that I could have walked across it or would be completely frozen. So, that river made Ohio the biggest underground railroad in America.”

There were 3,000 miles of route on the Underground Railroad and 23 points of entry in Ohio, but the trek meant the threat of wildlife, the elements and slavecatchers.

“We believe that if 100 slaves escaped, maybe 10 might have made it to safety,” Nimmo-Black said.

With the Ohio River splitting Kentucky, a slave state, from Ohio, this side of the river didn’t always guarantee freedom.

“In 1804, they made Black laws. If you wanted to live in Ohio, you had to have freedom papers,” Nimmo-Black said. “Those freedom papers cost you $500 at that time. So, we’re talking about $5,000 in today’s money.”

If caught, enslaved people had one hour to find a White man who could identify them as being free.

Historians believe between 40,000 and 50,000 enslaved people successfully crossed the Ohio River on their journey to freedom. Cincinnati was the first entry point for many.

“Where we’re standing there, this was called Little Africa. This is where free Blacks lived at. Where the Bengals stadium is, that was called Little Bucktown. Fifth Street, where P&G is all the way down, was Big Bucktown. So, you had three African American communities here,” Nimmo-Black said.

As the country commemorates its 250th anniversary, the heartland and this river will forever mark a port of freedom in America.