Findlay in Hancock County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
The Underground Railroad in Hancock County
Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., March 13, 2010
1. The Underground RR in Hancock County Marker (Side A)
The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 prompted an expansion of the "Underground Railroad," and as the state spanning the shortest distance between the Ohio River and Canada, Ohio saw heavy traffic in escaping slaves in the decades before the Civil War. Hancock County was home to many sympathetic residents who defied fugitive slave laws to help conduct slaves to freedom. "Stationmasters" offered safe havens, "conductors" accompanied fugitives through the county, and "stockholders" provided financial support and misled pursuers. Known stations were located mainly along the Perrysburg Road, now U.S. Highway 68.
David Adams, a free black barber in Findlay, watched his father and grandfather assist fugitive slaves as a child in Urbana. In the 1850s he conducted scores of "passengers" northward from Findlay. Other Hancock County stations included the farms of John Woods, John King, and Judge Robert Strother; other conductors included Robert Hurd and Joel Markle. Other local participants in America's first struggle for civil rights: William Baldwin; Francis Bartley; Dr. Belizur Beach; Henry and P.D. Bigelow; Ezra Brown; Job Chamberlin; David J. Cory; C.A. Croninger; William McCaughey; Hugh Newell; Charles O'Neal; Jonathan Parker; Henry Porch; Bass Rawson; James Spaythe; William Taylor; Jesse Wheeler; James Woods. Because of its secrecy,
this page online
Erected 2001 by The Ohio Bicentennial Commission, The Longaberger Company, Historic Preservation Guild of Hancock County, Hancock Historical Museum, Black Heritage Library and The Ohio Historical Society. (Marker Number 20-32.)
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Abolition & Underground RR • African Americans. In addition, it is included in the Ohio Historical Society / The Ohio History Connection series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1850.
Location. 41° 2.322′ N, 83° 39.003′ W. Marker is in Findlay, Ohio, in Hancock County. It is on Main Street, on the left when traveling south. Marker is across Main Stree from the east entrance to the county courthouse. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 300 S Main Street, Findlay OH 45840, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Ohio’s Till Plains. It is also in the American Midwest and in the Corn Belt. 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: Outstanding New Building, 1978 - 1979 (within shouting distance of this marker); Hancock County Courthouse (within shouting distance of this marker); War Savings Stamps (within shouting distance of this marker); Outstanding Renovated Building, 1980 - 1986 (within shouting distance of this marker); Hancock County Veterans Memorial
Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., March 13, 2010
2. The Underground RR in Hancock County Marker (Side B)
Also see . . .
1. Ohio Historical Underground Railroad Trail PDF. (Submitted on October 29, 2024, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York.)
2. 1903 History of Hancock County. Google Books entry (Submitted on March 27, 2010, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.)
Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., March 13, 2010
3. The Underground RR in Hancock County Marker
Looking west toward courthouse.
Credits. This page was last revised on January 5, 2025. It was originally submitted on March 27, 2010, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. This page has been viewed 6,000 times since then and 168 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on March 27, 2010, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.
