Ohio Valley Museum Celebrates Abolitionists Who Helped Escaped Slaves — Hidden History

The Underground Railroad Museum was founded in 1993 by Dr. John Mattox and his wife, Rosalind. The museum commemorates the Underground Railroad that operated in East Central Ohio before the Civil War and contains a collection of 8,000 historical items. In 2023, the museum was added to Ohio’s Underground Railroad Historic Trail.

Uncle Tom's CabinPhoto byUnderground Railroad Museum

The museum offers an interactive map highlighting locations in the region’s Underground Railroad network that helped freed and escaped slaves make their way to Canada.

In the years leading up to the Civil War, East Central Ohio played a significant part in helping escaped slaves make their way to Canada and freedom. Many of these slaves escaped around Wheeling, which was still part of Virginia at the time and crossed the Ohio River into Belmont County.

It was there, in places like Martins Ferry, that anti-slavery Abolitionists kept safe houses (known as “stations”) for the escaped slaves (“passengers”) to take refuge in before they were led by a “conductor” to the next station in the line.

On Saturday, September 21, the Underground Railroad Museum is hosting a special event that celebrates Ohio’s role in the Underground Railroad. More information on the event can be found at the end of the article.

The Wheeling Slave Auction Block

During the Antebellum Era, Virginia was one of the largest slave states in the Union and one of the most active states in the domestic slave trade. It is estimated that Virginia exported roughly 500,000 slaves each year to plantations in regions like Kentucky and the Deep South.

Wheeling Market HousePhoto byWeelunk/Wheeling Heritage

Slaves were often transported westward along the National Road to the Slave Auction in Wheeling. At this time, Wheeling was still part of Virginia, and the slave market was a lucrative business.

Wheeling’s location on the Ohio River made it an ideal place for slave traders to purchase slaves and ship them to cities like Charleston, into areas of Kentucky, and down to states in the Deep South.

The Wheeling Slave Auction Block was established in 1822, when the first Market House was built on the west side of Market Street, between 10th Street and 11th Street. The Auction Block was a large, movable wooden platform (6’ x 6’).

East Central Ohio Abolitionists

Abolitionists living in East Central Ohio, many of whom were Quakers, crossed over Wheeling and bought slaves at the auction — so they could free them when they returned to Ohio. This was a common — but expensive — practice. By the time of the Civil War, the cost of one male slave was as much as $1,200. Adjusted for inflation, that would be more than $42,000 today.

Model of the Jacob Holloway HousePhoto byUnderground Railroad Museum

In the 1820s, Ohio law required freed slaves to leave the state within six months, so they were still in danger. If a slave wanted to maintain their freedom, he or she had to go west to the vast, undeveloped territories or go north to Canada.

Alexander and Lydia Branum — The Branums lived in Bridgeport, Ohio, just across the river from Wheeling. From their home, which is still standing, they housed slaves and helped transport them to other locations. The Branums were outspoken Abolitionists.

Sarah Overman Bundy — Bundy was a widow who lived in Belmont County, southwest of Belmont. The museum says she hid slaves in the loft of her barn. Her son, William “Black Bill” Bundy, became involved with the Underground Railroad. Sarah raised William to detest slavery. As a conductor, he transported escaped slaves as far north as he could overnight and would return home.

Richard Naylor and Sam Cooper — Naylor and Cooper were free black men who operated a safe house called “Floral Valley.” It was located north of Wheeling. According to the museum, the two ran a scheme where they would go to Wheeling to rescue escaped slaves. Naylor would pretend he was drunk to cause a distraction while Cooper helped fugitives escape Wheeling and cross the Ohio River.

Caleb Cope — Cope was a physician and a conductor on the Underground Railroad who lived northwest of Martins Ferry in Farmington.

Thomas Drummond — Drummond was a politician, soldier, Abolitionist, and the editor of the Vinton Eagle. Drummond was appointed to the 5th U.S. Cavalry, where he commanded George Armstrong Custer and fought in the First Battle of Bull Run, Stoneman’s Raid during the Battle of Chancellorsville, and the Battle of Gettysburg. Drummond was mortally wounded at the Battle of Five Forks and is buried in St. Clairsville, Ohio.

Josiah Fox — Fox was a Quaker and owned slaves at one time. He freed them, joined the Abolitionist Movement, and moved to Ohio. He lived northwest of Martins Ferry, not far from Joshua Steele. The museum says he brought one of his former slaves, William Fletcher, to Ohio with him. Fox was born in Great Britain and emigrated to the United States in 1793. He went to work for the United States Navy, where he helped design some of the first frigates in the Navy, including the USS Constitution, “Old Ironsides.”

Tobias Hanes—Hanes owned a flour mill northwest of Martins Ferry. According to the museum, he hid slaves in the mill, and the running water from the wheel hid the trail from bloodhounds, which were used to track them.

Jacob and Isaac Holloway — The Holloways hid slaves in their safe house and transported them via covered wagon to other locations.

Nathan and Sarah Johnson—Very little is known about the Johnsons. They lived in Belmont, Ohio, and the museum identifies them as Quakers, Abolitionists, and conductors.

Nathan JohsonPhoto byUGRR Virtual Tour

Benjamin Lundy — Lundy was a Quaker from New Jersey who moved to Wheeling, where he learned about the slave trade. In 1815, he moved to St. Clairsville, Ohio, where he formed the Union Humane Society. This was the first anti-slavery society located west of the Appalachian Mountains. In 1822, he moved to Mount Pleasant, Ohio, where he published the Abolitionist newspaper he called The Genius of Universal Emancipation.

Eli Nichols — Nichols lived in Lloydsville and operated a safe house. He is said to have had “...an instinctive and uncompromising hostility to American slavery…”

Thomas Pointer — Pointer was a free black man who lived west of Martins Ferry on a farm owned by Jacob Van Pelt. The museum says Pointer was a conductor and hid slaves in his attack. His wife, Maria, would wash the ladder to the attic with hot water and then sprinkle cayenne pepper on it to cover the trail. The Pointers spent time living at the Lett Settlement in Meigs Township, Muskingum County, Ohio. The settlement was a self-sustaining community of mixed-race families.

William Schooley — Schooley’s home was a safe house on the Underground Railroad in Somerton, Ohio.

Joshua Steele — Steele was a conductor on the Underground Railroad. He lived on a farm northwest of Martins Ferry and hid slaves under the floor of his barn.

Jacob Van Pelt — Van Pelt was a Quaker and prominent Abolitionist. Van Pelt’s home also overlooked Martins Ferry. In his book Beautiful Belmont, John Salisbury Cochrane relates the story of visiting Wheeling in 1851 with his mother when he was 10 years old. Van Pelt was with him. The boys were “looking for something to do” when they “ventured to the upper end of the markethouse, and there beheld a sight that I shall never forget, and which subsequently changed my whole political thought and action. It was a slave auction.” According to the museum, Van Pelt would travel to Wheeling to buy slaves and free them when he returned to Ohio.

Joel Wood — Wood was a Quaker from Smithfield, Connecticut, who moved to Martins Ferry, Ohio. He bought land there in 1837 and ran a mercantile business until 1843, when he turned to managing his large orchard. He was a member of the “Ohio Anti-Slavery Society” and helped form the Liberty Party, which eventually became part of the Republican Party. It is said that Wood’s house stood on a hill and was painted white, so it may have looked like a “beacon on a hill to slaves escaping from Virginia.” Wood was a “conductor” on the Underground Railroad, responsible for helping escaped slaves find their way to the next safe house on the route. According to the museum, Wood’s home was one of the first stops for escaped slaves in Belmont County, Ohio.

The home of Joel Wood.Photo byUGRR Virtual Tour

Join the Underground Railroad Museum on Saturday, September 21, for a Special Event

The museum is holding “Poetry Moves Us Beyond” on Saturday, September 21, as it hosts the Ohio Underground Railroad Whistle-Stop Poetry Tour. There will be poetry readings, a presentation, and a self-guided tour. Admission is free.

The Underground Railroad Museum is located at:

121 High Street
Flushing, Ohio
43977

Poetry Moves Us BeyondPhoto byUnderground Railroad Museum

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