CLYDE, Ohio — Gov. Mike DeWine, elected leaders and Friends of Freedom Society officials unveiled historical Underground Railroad markers along the Ohio Turnpike on Wednesday.
The markers are expected to help tell the story of Ohio's role in the Underground Railroad.
"America's past has been filled with wonderful moments, it's also been filled with many tragic ones as well. Slavery was one of them," Cathy Nelson, founder of the Friends of Freedom Society said.
Attendees gathered inside the Sandusky County service plaza along the Ohio Turnpike.
The marker notes northwest Ohio's involvement in the Underground Railroad.
An estimated 40,000 escaped slaves passed through or arrived in Ohio by taking the railroad in the 1800s.
"It was very secretive, very dangerous and illegal. So yes, we were a spider web of routes and places for the Underground Railroad," Nelson said.
The marker in Sandusky County tells the story of escaped slave Lizzie Anderson, who took shelter inside of Loomis Ames farm in Clyde.
Anderson lived on the farm until her death in 1911.
The hope is these markers can not only remind Ohioans, but all visitors who travel the turnpike, that Ohio was a key aspect of the railroad.
"All of the people that go through here, some of them will stop on a summer day and take a moment to read the plaque and remember this very, very important part of our history," DeWine said.
Ohio Governor Mike Dewine visited Sandusky County to unveil new Underground Railroad historical markers
Four markers were placed along the turnpike; one of them at the north service plaza and another at the south service plaza in Sandusky County. Two others were unveiled in Portage County.