SY Sari Timur: Ripley, Ohio

April 28, 2016

Ripley, Ohio

Well, we went to see Beth and Al in Ripley. While we were there we got to see a little of why they settled there other than that Al was born there. The house they bought has a fantastic view of the river and is right on the edge of town for walking through lots of beautiful old houses and buildings.

Other than being a pretty little own, it turns out that it played a major part in the pre-Civil War Underground Railroad, a network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century slaves to escape to free states with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. Two key people from there, the Reverend John Rankin and John Parker were responsible for hundreds of slaves escaping. Often the slave bounty hunters got aggressive and chased them into Ohio, which was supposedly where they were free. The Reverend Rankin and his sons were often at risk. John Parker was a former slave who bought his freedom and moved to Ripley and became a metal worker. He was credited with many patents but was most famous for sneaking across the river and leading the runaway slaves to safety. Harriet Beecher Stowe was influenced by these guys and wrote the book Uncle Tom's Cabin.

Also, as this is the edge of Appalachia, there is an appreciation for this type of music. We went to the local library one night to watch a local Jam Session. The stage area kept getting bigger and bigger with more people as they came with their musical instruments and the music seemed to keep getting better as well. Unfortunately we had to leave early but it was a great hour and a half that we watched. All kinds of special string instruments as well as the standard fiddles and guitars.

Before attending the music night we took the local ferry across the big river to Augusta, Kentucky for lunch and sightseeing and then drove back via the Maysville Bridge.