John Rankin House — Attraction in Ohio

The Reverend John Rankin was an abolishionist and helped slaves escape to freedom by the Underground Railroad. His house overlooked the Ohio River, and escaped slaves were told to look for the light facing the river. Escaping slaves could get food and temporary refuge before heading further north to freedom. The tour guide is very good, giving you a lot of information about the Rankin family and the house. Expect about 50 minutes if you take the full tour. The house is restored to look as it did back then and there was a lot of detail researched to get it to that point. This site also has a very nice visitor center where there is a small museum and gift shop. The grounds overlook the Ohio River, so you get some great views on a nice day. This site is part of the Ohio History Connection, so if you are a history buff, you might...

I enjoyed my visit and the tour there. It was part of an Underground Railroad Tour that I was on with a group. The guide explained that mostly everything here had been restored except some of the exterior of the house back to its original state. It was very interesting learning about some of the more unknown abolitionists and conductors who helped slaves escape to freedom.

The only thing I DIDN’T like was that the “Steps to Freedom” which is the actual pathway and steps from the Ohio River to the Rankin property was closed. 😕 I may try to revisit when this part of the museum opens back up. I had really wanted to...

I visited this home many times as a child. It's definitely worth seeing and hearing the history of how the underground railroad communicated.

At Christmastime there was always a large star lit at the top of the hill. I remember asking my parents to drive nearer so we could see it better. And, whenever we visited we would always walk down the wooden stairs. It seems there were more stairs that continued all the way to the river. I'll have to visit again and see if that's still true. Or, you can visit and let...