Reply #13: Cinncinati was a major stop on the Underground Railroad

[noonwitch]

The first city in the "north", along that route, and where the runaways crossed over the Ohio River on their way through Ohio and Michigan to Canada. It was their first stop in a free state, even though they still had to hide because of the fugitive slave act. There are Underground Railroad sites all through Ohio and Michigan. Many of the old, church-based colleges in both states had hiding places, and Second Baptist Church in Detroit (in Greektown) was one of the final stops on the railroad before Canada. Adrian College, in Michigan, was also a "station".

The stop in Detroit is a historic landmark, and a place where kids go on field trips. There also is a statue at Hart Plaza in downtown Detroit that honors the runaway slaves.