Clermont County Freedom Trail
Expiration: 365 days after purchase
The Clermont County Freedom Trail to explore the 42 historical sites, 22 of which are approved to the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. This mobile audio tour makes it easier to explore all the stories, endeavors, and facts all from your fingertips. This self-guided journey highlights one of the largest Network to Freedom programs in the nation today. The Freedom Trail is a great way to educate students, schools, and Ohio history programs to serve as an informational piece on providing history about the Underground Railroad.
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Andrew Powell Home Site
This was once the residence of Andrew Powell. Powell was a wealthy businessman who used his ornate and well-known private carriage to transport fugitive slaves from the Ohio River to Felicity.
Authur Fee Home Site
On this parcel of land was once the residence of Arthur Fee (1791-1879), a member of the prominent abolitionist Fee Family.
Bethel Baptist Church
The Bethel Baptist Church was organized in 1798, as an anti-slavery church. Obed Denham, abolitionist and founder of Bethel, donated two lots for the church to build a meeting house and cemetery.
Brice Blair Home Site
This building was once the residence of Brice Blair. Blair was an elder in the anti-slavery Batavia Presbyterian Church and the president of the Clermont County Anti-Slavery Society.
Charles B. Huber Farm
This parcel of land was once part of the farm owned by Charles B. Huber, stationmaster of the Underground Railroad for Williamsburg.
Charles B. Huber Home Site
This was once the residence of Charles “Boss” B. Huber, Williamsburg stationmaster of the Underground Railroad.
Clermont/Parker Academy
The Parker Academy, also known as the Clermont Academy, was a private school organized in 1839, and neighbors the Reverend Danial Parker Home. The Parker Academy was open to students of both genders (co-ed) and all races.
Courthouse Front Lawn/Slave Auction Site
Once here in the Courthouse front lawn, was the location of slave auctions held on the auction block. Here, in front of the noted area, Harriett Beecher Stowe while a guest of Washington friends, walked up the lawn and witnessed a live auction of male African Americans.
Cranston Memorial Presbyterian Church
The Cranston Memorial Presbyterian Church took an early and uncompromising stand against slavery. Reverend Amos Dresser, Lane Theological Seminary rebel and anti-slavery martyr, was a minister of the church.
Dr. John Rogers Home Site
This site was home of Dr. John Rogers. He was the first president of the Clermont County Anti-Slavery Society in 1836, a Liberty Party candidate for public office and member of the “Chieftains of Liberty” vigilance committee.
Dr. Leavitt Thaxter Pease Home Site
This site was the home and medical office of Dr. L.T. Pease, abolitionist and Underground Railroad Conductor.
Dr. William E. Thompson Boyhood Home Site
Dr. William Eberle Thompson (1835 – 1940), a noted Underground Railroad conductor, lived in this home during the time he was active in the Bethel Underground Railroad Network.
Dr. William E. Thompson Home Site
This was the residence of Dr. William Eberle Thompson (1835 – 1940), who became an active member of the Bethel Underground Railroad network as a teenager.
Fee Villa
Once the residence of Thomas Fee Jr. (1801-1862), Moscow’s oral history states the Fee Villa was a stop on the Underground Railroad in Moscow.
Felicity Wesleyan Church
The Felicity Wesleyan Church was formed in 1847, when forty members of the Methodist Church left over the slavery issue.
Felicity Cemetery
The Felicity Cemetery is the burial site of Arthur Fee (1791 – 1879) and Oliver Perry Spencer Fee (1823 – 1873), noted abolitionist and key member of the Underground Railroad
Harriett Beecher Stowe Childhood Home
The Harriet Beecher Stowe Museum is housed in the Marshall Key House (1807), built by Marshall Key, nephew of U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Marshall and the 3rd County Clerk of Mason Co.
Harriett Beecher Stowe Home
This house was home to Harriet Beecher before her marriage to Calvin Stowe in 1836, and to her father, Rev. Lyman Beecher, and his large family, a prolific group of religious leaders, educators, writers and antislavery and women's rights advocates.
John Joliffe – Clermont County Courthouse
This site commemorates John Jolliffe, Prosecuting Attorney for Clermont County from 1833-1837.
John Parker House
John P. Parker was born into slavery in 1827. At 8 years old, he was sold to a doctor in Alabama, whose sons illegally taught Parker to read. He purchased his freedom in 1845, married and settled in Ripley, OH
John Rankin House
Built in 1825, the Rankin House was home to abolitionist and Presbyterian minister John Rankin, his wife Jean, and their 13 children.
Lindale Baptist Church And Cemetery
Lindale Baptist Church was the church of Andrew Coombs, Jr. (1805-1864.) Coombs was the organizing secretary of the Gilead Anti-Slavery Society in 1836 .
Marcus Sims – Huber Tannery Location
This site was chosen to commemorate Marcus Sims and his activities in the Underground Railroad.
National Underground Railroad Freedom Center
The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center stands as a monument to freedom bringing to life the importance - and relevance - of struggles for freedom around the world, throughout history and today.
National Underground Railroad Museum
Also known as The Bierbower House, this museum was a documented Safe House. This location features exhibits of Slavery artifacts, documents and memorabilia documenting Maysville's role in the abolitionist movement and the role of slavery in America.
New Richmond Waterfront
The riverfront park was once an active port in the 19th century for transporting agricultural products from the surrounding area. The village was an early center of abolitionist activity, hosting the first Anti-Slavery Society in Clermont County.
O.P.S. Fee Store
When slave-hunters came to Oliver Perry Spencer Fee for help, he directed them in the opposite direction. Fee fed and clothed the escapees from his store, located at this site.
Old Calvary Methodist Church
The Calvary Methodist Church was once located on this site before the brick structure was built across the road. On November 4, 1842, members of the community met to discuss the Wigglesworth Kidnapping.
Old Settlers Cemetery
This was the first cemetery in Bethel. The community was settled by abolitionists, many of whom are buried here.
Philip Gatch Burial Site – Greenlawn Cemetery
Reverend Philip Gatch (1751 – 1834) was a Methodist minister who freed the slaves that he inherited from his wife’s father.
Reverend George C. Light Home Site
This is the former residence of Reverend George C. Light (1785-1860), a Methodist minister and agent of the American Colonization Society.
Robert E. Fee Burial Site – Moscow Cemetery
Robert E. Fee (1796 – 1879), an active conductor in Moscow, was a member of Clermont County’s most prominent Underground Railroad family.
Robert E. Fee Home Site
On this parcel of land was once the residence of Robert E. Fee (1796 – 1879). Fee became involved in the rescue attempts of Fanny Wigglesworth and her four children, who were kidnapped and enslaved.
Samarian Cemetery
A traditional black cemetery, Samarian Cemetery is the final resting place for 19 African American soldiers that fought for freedom and the Union during the Civil War.
Sugar Tree Wesleyan Church And Cemetery
The Sugar Tree Wesleyan Church, founded by anti-slavery Methodists in 1845, was one of the first Wesleyan churches organized in Ohio.
Tate Township Cemetery
This cemetery contains the burial sites of Bethel’s four most active members of the Underground Railroad. The individuals: Benjamin Rice, Richard Mace, Dr. William E. Thompson and Rev. Silas Chase, MD.
The Wigglesworth Kidnapping
On October 30, 1842, several men broke into the home of Fanny and Vincent Wigglesworth. They kidnapped Fanny and her four children and enslaved them.
The Philanthropist Newspaper
At the corner of Walnut and Willow Streets once stood the blacksmith shop of Samuel Ridlen where the anti-slavery newspaper the Philanthropist was first published on January 1, 1836.
U.S. Senator Thomas Morris Bural Site
U.S. Senator Thomas Morris (1776 – 1844) is also buried in the Old Settlers Cemetery.
Ulysses S. Grant Birthplace
Nestled between Big Indian Creek and the Ohio River sits the small white house where Grant’s mother, Hannah Simpson Grant, gave birth with the aid of Dr. John Rogers, to the little boy who would become the 18th President of the United States. The future president lived here in Point Pleasant for less than a year, as his family moved to Georgetown one month before his first birthday. Today the birthplace is furnished with items that once belonged to Grant as well as other period items. The birthplace is open and available for tours April through September, Wed.-Sat., 10:00am-5:00pm and Sun., 1:00-5:00pm.
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Will Sleet Home Site
The parcel of land was once the home site of Will Sleet, a prominent member of the Felicity Underground Railroad network.
Williamsburg Township Cemetery
This cemetery contains the burial sites of three Underground Railroad operatives: Charles B. Huber (1806 – 1854); Dr. L.T. Pease (1809 – 1874); Samuel Peterson (1836 – 1921).