University Circle in Cleveland in Cuyahoga County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
A Bench by the Road
Photographed by Craig Doda, December 6, 2025
1. A Bench By The Road Marker
There is no place you or I can go, to think about or not think about, to summon the presences of, or recollect the absences of slaves; nothing that reminds us of the ones who made the journey and of those who did not make it. There is no suitable memorial or plaque or wreath or wall or park or skyscraper lobby. There's no three-hundred-foot tower. There's no small bench by the road.
- Toni Morrison 1989
The Bench by the Road Project was launched by the Toni Morrison Society in honor of Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison. This Bench is placed in recognition of the heroic freedom seekers who made the arduous journey north to freedom along the Underground Railroad, aided in part by Cleveland's African-American and White anti-slavery community. Horatio Cyrus Ford and Samuel Cozad III, successful businessmen and property owners in the area now known as University Circle, and African-American businessman and civil rights activist, John Malvin, were exemplars of Cleveland's participation in the resistance to slavery and in the struggle for social justice. This Bench is a memorial to the freedom seekers who passed through Cleveland and to those Cleveland residents who assisted them on their journey.
Erected 2016 by Toni Morrison Society.
Topics.
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Location. 41° 30.513′ N, 81° 36.166′ W. Marker is in Cleveland, Ohio, in Cuyahoga County. It is in University Circle. It is at the intersection of Mayfield Road (U.S. 322) and Circle Drive, on the right when traveling east on Mayfield Road. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 11510 Mayfield Rd, Cleveland OH 44106, 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: The Cozad-Bates House Interpretive Center (within shouting distance of this marker); The Cozad-Bates House / Anti-Slavery and Abolition (within shouting distance of this marker); To Stand Up (within shouting distance of this marker); To Decide (within shouting distance of this marker); To Risk (within shouting distance of this marker); Cozad-Bates House (within shouting distance of this marker); Sculptors of Guardians / Scultori Dei Guardiani
Photographed by Craig Doda, December 6, 2025
2. A Bench By The Road Marker
Photographed by Craig Doda, December 6, 2025
3. The Cozad-Bates House
Credits. This page was last revised on February 19, 2026. It was originally submitted on February 17, 2026, by Craig Doda of Napoleon, Ohio. This page has been viewed 55 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on February 17, 2026, by Craig Doda of Napoleon, Ohio. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.
