Cycling the Underground Railroad--Part 2
DAY 5: Aberdeen to Milford, OH The Ohio River from old Front Street. Ripley, Ohio As I rode along the Ohio River this morning, I heard thunder in the distance. In a while the streak of good weather I have been enjoying would be snapped by an hour or so of rain. But I really didn't mind. It added to the ambiance. I soon arrived in the town of Ripley. Founded in 1812, this borderland outpost found itself in the crosshairs between proslavery and abolitionists activists and was the first "station" of the Underground Railroad in this free state. But just because Ohio was "free" didn't mean ot was safe for "runaway slaves." Bounty hunters from Kentucky would roam the streets and search the woods for fugitives for which they could collect bounties. John Parker, a black free man, ironsmith, inventor and patent holder by day risked his life at nights by crossing the Ohio to bring others to freedom. His house on the banks of the Ohio stands next to...