Sandusky, Ohio, Early Abolitionist Community
Erie County Lake Port, Key Stop on the Underground Railroad
Sandusky, Ohio is a Great Lakes port town located in Erie County on the shore of Lake Erie. It has a rich history dating back to wilderness days pre-dating the War of 1812. It has never been a large city but it has always played an active role in the historical events of the nation. Not the least of these was as an important stop for slaves seeking to escape to Canada and freedom on the Underground Railroad.
Sandusky’s Early History Was Steeped in Anti-Slavery Sentiment
Sandusky’s leaders' views against slavery took root early on with one of its earliest scions, an opinionated and fearless Irishman named John Beatty who served as Sandusky's Mayor from 1833 to 1836. Beatty carried his unswerving stand against slavery as a public banner. A staunch member of the Sandusky Methodist church, Beatty withdrew his membership and founded a separate church when the church body voted against hosting an antislavery speaker in 1835.
Indeed, the first runaway slave known to receive sanctuary in Sandusky arrived on foot as early as 1820. He was a slave said to be owned by a man named Riley, who was close in pursuit of his “property.” Sanduskian Captain P. Shephard hid the fugitive slave in C.W. Marsh’s tavern in Sandusky for three days, literally under Riley’s nose as he futilely searched for the man.
The story goes that on the fourth day the frustrated Riley widened his search by taking the steam ship to Detroit. Captain Shephard seized the moment to hide Riley’s slave on Shephard’s sailboat in which he sailed him to freedom in Canada. Riley never found him and never knew what happened to him.
Sandusky’s Great Lakes Location Facilitated the Underground Railroad Movement
Prior to the Civil War, people living along the coast of Lake Erie and on close outlying islands, such as Kelleys Island and the Bass Islands, were ideally situated to support the Underground Railroad. Sandusky was a key location in this clandestine system of human connections, in which runaway slaves were moved at great risk against the law of the land.
As one of the Great Lakes ports close to the Canadian border and situated among several river systems, Sandusky ‘s location made it an ideal major depot for refugees on the freedom trail. In her book, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe immortalized Sandusky as her character Eliza’s family's escape route.
Prominent Sandusky Residents Collaborated in the Underground Railroad Movement
Leading Sandusky officials, lawyers, socialites, businessmen, and lake captains, as well as quiet low-profile people, were all involved in the city's anti-slavery effort. One such advocate was George J. Reynolds, whose business occupied the northeast corner of Jackson and Madison Streets in downtown Sandusky. Reynolds' building was believed to have been an Underground Railroad safe house.
Another advocate was lawyer Rush R. Sloane, who defended fugitive slaves charged under the Fugitive Slave Act (FSA) and even personally suffered prosecution and fines under the FSA for his abolitionist activities. Sloane would become a probate judge in Erie County.
The officers of the ships Arrow, United States, Mayflower, and Bay City, which ran from Sandusky to Detroit, were known to be willing to help escaped slaves reach Canada. The Second Baptist Church at 315 Decatur Street was called “The First Anti-Slavery Baptist Church of Sandusky.”
One artful way slaves were brought into the city was by armed men posing as hunters driving covered wagons concealing their “kill,” a game hunting party’s common transport method. No one would be inclined to approach such fellows or challenge their protection of their bounty, not even aggressive slave hunters.
A Higher Law
Oran Follett, another leading citizen of Sandusky, was an anti-slavery sympathizer, but one who was also concerned about the concept and consequence of breaking the law. His wife, Eliza Follett, however, a tireless helper of the poor and afflicted, was more militant. She helped feed and clothe many escaped slaves on their way through Sandusky to Canada. It is reported that Eliza’s response, when Oran expressed his concern to her about breaking the FSA, which forbade the aiding and abetting of runaway slaves, was, “Husband, there is a higher law.”
This was the motivating ethic of the Underground Railroad conductors, whose stations were caves, farmhouses, barns, stores, livery stables, factories, hotels, cottages, boats, and mansions stretching across Ohio from the Ohio River to Lake Erie. Nowhere was the abolitionist sentiment stronger than in Erie County, Ohio, where Sandusky was (and is) the County seat.
As H.L. Peeke said about the Underground Railroad in his History of Erie County, written in 1916: “ Its conductors, agents and managers believed that they should obey God rather than man.”
Underground Railroad Sign in Sandusky, Ohio
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Sandusky's Boy with Boot Statue-Courthouse
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Sandusky Bay from Downtown Sandusky
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