The Iron Furnace Trail of the Underground Railroad in Lawrence County, OH - 4/4 Trails depicted in this series.

The underground railroad in Lawrence County, Ohio was not as important as in other sections of Ohio. This was due mainly to the isolated area and the lack of numerous plantations in the nearby regions of Virginia and Kentucky. The section of the Ohio River which flowed along the boundary of Lawrence County was separated from Tidewater Virginia by hundreds of miles of rugged terrain. In Kentucky, the rivers that would have guided fugitives entered the Ohio River many miles west of Lawrence County.

The underground railroad trails across the county helped many fugitives to escape slavery. The best documented trail followed the iron furnaces along the path of the Iron Railroad and the highway which later became OH 93. Wilbur Siebert, a professor at Ohio state University, decided in the 1890's to search for information about the secret and hidden "Underground Railroad" created and used before the Civil War. He sent students with questionnaires to county seats along the Ohio River and many other areas of the state, but his information was limited because secrets die hard and most of the people involved were dead.

The Hanging Rock Iron Region created several Iron Masters beginning with the first Lawrence County furnace in 1826. Several of these men were avid abolitionists. John Means and his son Thomas were among those who built Union Furnace near Pine Grove. John Means removed from South Carolina to Ohio in 1819 and transported twenty-six slaves with him who were freed by location in Ohio. He lived in both Adams and Brown counties Ohio along with the Ellison family including brothers Andrew and John with their sister Sarah who married Thomas Means. John Campbell was kin to the Ellison family by marriage and married a niece of Robert Hamilton, while John Peters came from Pennsylvania.

Besides iron, these men believed everyone was equal and they hired both Black and white workers. Within a period of ten years, these men built at least ten furnaces in the northern section of Lawrence County and hired about 250 workers for each furnace. All these furnaces were within fifteen miles of Poke Patch, later recognized as a "station" on the underground railroad with several know "conductors" living nearby.

The economic and political power of the Iron Masters gave some protection from the radical "slave catcher" who roamed along the Ohio River. Iron ore and supplies had to be shipped both north and south along the trails and probably provided opportunities to slip runaways into the regular workers of the numerous furnaces and the supply trains. However transportation was arranged, runaways were safely moved from the Ohio River along the Iron furnace Trail to Poke Patch area and from there farther north. Iron Master John Campbell was even reported to have gone in the woods himself to assure safe passage.

Evans, Nelson W. & Stivers, Emmons B. : The History of Adams County, Ohio from Earliest Settlement to the Present, 1995.

Siebert, Wilbur: The Underground Railroad from Slavery to Freedom, 1898.

Siebert UGRR Collection, Ohio - digital - www.ohiomemory.org