A bill was signed on June 14 by Ohio Governor Mike DeWine that designates September as International Underground Railroad Month in Ohio. Pictured, from the left, are Ohio State Representative Willis Blackshear, Betty Campbell (Rankin House site manager), Wayne Gates (Ripley Village administrator), Carol Stivers (John Parker Historical Society president), Howard McClain (Ripley Village Council member), and Ohio State Representative Adam Bird.

A bill was signed on June 14 by Ohio Governor Mike DeWine that designates September as International Underground Railroad Month in Ohio. Pictured, from the left, are Ohio State Representative Willis Blackshear, Betty Campbell (Rankin House site manager), Wayne Gates (Ripley Village administrator), Carol Stivers (John Parker Historical Society president), Howard McClain (Ripley Village Council member), and Ohio State Representative Adam Bird.

A bill was signed on June 14 by Ohio Governor Mike DeWine that designates September as International Underground Railroad Month in Ohio.

For many states, September represents International Underground Railroad Month. In 2019, The State of Maryland proclaimed September as International Underground Railroad Month. In 2020, the states Maryland and Michigan were trailblazers in the effort to include more states in this celebration, working with the National Park Service’s National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom to connect with verified Underground Railroad sites, facilities, and programs from across the United States.

September was chosen to represent International Underground Railroad Month because it was the month that two of the most well known freedom seekers and Underground Railroad operatives, Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman, escaped from slavery.