Ashtabula in Ashtabula County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

The Hubbard House

Photographed by Mike Wintermantel, August 10, 2018

1. The Hubbard House Marker

Inscription. Built in the 1840s by William and Catharine Hubbard and known as "Mother Hubbard's Cupboard" or "The Great Emporium" by fugitive slaves, the Hubbard House was an important terminus on the fabled Underground Railroad in the years before the Civil War. The Hubbard House sheltered escaped slaves who had risked life and limb after crossing the Ohio River into the North. From the Hubbard home, slaves walked one-quarter mile to the Hubbard and Company warehouse on the Ashtabula River, where friendly boat captains awaited to ferry their passengers to Canada and freedom. The U.S. Department of the Interior listed the Hubbard House on its National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

Erected 1999 by Ohio Bicentennial Commission, The Longaberger Company, Hubbard House Underground Railroad Museum, and The Ohio Historical Society. (Marker Number 5-4.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Abolition & Underground RR • War, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the Ohio Historical Society / The Ohio History Connection series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1973.

Location. 41° 53.976′ N,

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80° 48.281′ W. Marker is in Ashtabula, Ohio, in Ashtabula County. It is at the intersection of Walnut Boulevard and West 1st Street, on the right when traveling west on Walnut Boulevard. Located next to the Harbor-Topky Memorial Library. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Ashtabula OH 44004, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is on Ohio’s Lake Erie Shore

and in the Western Reserve.

It is also in the American Midwest

and on the Great Lakes.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

and the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Col. William Hubbard Homestead (a few steps from this marker); 1147 (approx. 0.2 miles away); 1135 (approx. ¼ mile away); 1127 (approx. ¼ mile away); 1123 (approx. ¼ mile away); 1119 (approx. ¼ mile away); 1116 (approx. ¼ mile away); Mother of Sorrows Church (approx.

Photographed by Mike Wintermantel, August 10, 2018

2. The Hubbard House Marker

¼ mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Ashtabula.

Also see . . . Hubbard House Underground Railroad Museum. (Submitted on August 11, 2018, by Mike Wintermantel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.)

The Hubbard House Underground Railroad Museum image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Ian Lefkowitz, May 25, 2025

3. The Hubbard House Underground Railroad Museum

The Hubbard House is home to a historic house museum that is open by appointment.

Credits. This page was last revised on June 30, 2025. It was originally submitted on August 11, 2018, by Mike Wintermantel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This page has been viewed 870 times since then and 87 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on August 11, 2018, by Mike Wintermantel of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 3. submitted on June 26, 2025, by Ian Lefkowitz of New York, New York.