OHIO

OhioRiver

About the bicycling:Distance: 26.5 mi. Recommended forintermediate to advanced cyclists. Slightuphill grade leaving Ripley resulting in anice downhill back into town. Free SoilRd. is a long, slow climb north towardGeorgetown. Use caution descending OldU.S. Highway 68 through the hairpin curveknown locally as “Horseshoe Bend” to theintersection with Centerpoint Rd. Deer arefrequently sighted at this location.To do & see:▲ Ulysses S. Grant Boyhood Home, 219

E. Grant Ave., Georgetown, 937-378-4222 (from Main St., located 0.2 mi. easton Grant Ave.).

▲ Grant Schoolhouse, 508 S. Water St.,Georgetown, 937-378-4222 (from MainSt., located 2 blocks east on E. 3rd St.).

▲ John A. Ruthven’s Art Gallery, 203 E.Grant Ave., Georgetown, 937-378-4222(from Main St., located 0.2 mi. east onGrant Ave.).

Bicycle shop:▲ Mycle's Cycles, 106 E. Cherry

St., Georgetown, 937-378-5700.Local cycling information, bikerentals, and guided toursavailable. Ask about longerUnderground Railroad route options.

Where to eat:▲ Alley Cat Café, 106 S. Main St.,

Georgetown, 937-378-5300.▲ Parker’s Pizzeria, 124 N. Main St.,

Georgetown, 937-378-6936.

Where to stay:▲ Bailey House B&B, 112

N. Water St.,Georgetown, 937-378-3087.

About the bicycling:Distance: 12.8 mi. Recommended forintermediate cyclists. Slight uphill gradeboth leaving and entering Ripley. U.S.Highway 62/68 is a four-lane highway withshoulders that carry heavy traffic. Usecaution.To do & see:▲ Red Oak Presbyterian Church, 5754

Cemetery Rd., Red Oak (from U.S.Highway 62/68, located 0.2 mi. east onCemetary Rd.).

See Ripley Loop for additional listings.Where to eat:See Ripley Loop for listings.Where to stay:Call the Brown County Tourism Office forlodging options in the area, 937-378-1970.

Main St.

Ripl

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Ripl

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CenterpointRd.

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About the bicycling:Distance: 8.9 mi. Recommended forbeginner cyclists. Slight uphill grade bothleaving and entering Ripley. Schwallie Rd.is essentially one lane with residential-onlytraffic and the last mile all downhill toRipley Rd.To do & see:▲ Rankin House, 6152 Rankin Hill Rd.,

Ripley, 937-392-1627 (from 2nd St.,located 0.25 mi. east on Rankin Hill Rd.).

▲ Parker House, 330 Front St., Ripley, 937-392-4188.

▲ Ripley Presbyterian Church (Rev.Rankin’s church), 114 Mulberry St.,

Ripley (from Front St., located 2 blockseast on Mulberry St.).

▲ Ripley Musuem, 219 N. 2nd St., Ripley,937-392-4660.

Where to eat:▲ Coheart’s Riverhouse Restaurant, 18 N.

Front St., Ripley, 937-392-4819.▲ Rockin’ Robin’s Soda Shoppe, 8 N. Front

St., Ripley, 937-392-1300.Where to stay:Call the Brown County Tourism Office forlodging options in the area, 937-378-1970.

KENTUCKY

Higginsport

RIPLEY LOOP

RED OAK LOOP

GEORGETOWN LOOP

View of Rankin House from the bottom of the hill.Inset: Looking out the window of the Rankin House towardthe Ohio River.

DE

NN

IS C

OE

LLO

Historic church in Red Oak.

Pedaling through downtown Georgetown.

Front Street in Ripley.

TO

M U

HLM

AN

General notes about the bicycle routes:♦ All loops are best ridden in a

clockwise direction. If riding ona weekday try to ride between9AM and 3PM.

♦ Old US Highway 68 has light-to-moderate traffic with twolanes and no shoulder. It is apopular cycling road so motoristsare generally aware of bicyclists.

♦ Most road surfaces are chip sealor tar roads with loose gravel.

♦ Wildlife is abundant in the area.Watch for deer in the road,particularly on descents.

♦ Many of the roads in these loopswill have rolling hills.

Ripley

RedOak

George-town

Russellville

0.2

Ripley LoopRed Oak LoopGeorgetown LoopAdventure Cycling AssociationUnderground Railroad Bicycle Route

Mileage between points

OldU.S. Highway 68

OldU.S.

Highway

68

52

52

68

62

6268

➤

221

68

125

125

➤

N1/40

mile

11/2

THE UNDERGROUND RAILROADN

ow you can experience one of the m

ost storied treks tofreedom

in Am

erican history – by bicycle. A clandestine netw

orkof routes and safe houses that helped enslaved A

mericans find

freedom, the exact origin of the nam

e is not known; how

ever, bythe 1820s both those w

ho aided freedom seekers and those w

how

ere angered by the loss of their human “property” began to refer

to an Underground R

ailroad. In its most developed form

, theU

nderground Railroad offered local aid to runaw

ays, assistingthem

from one point to another. “C

onductors” would guide the

freedom seekers to a safe

“station” on the route north.A

fter the Fugitive Slave Act

of 1850, the Underground

Railroad evolved from

itsloosely organized beginningsto som

ething more deliberate

and organized. Despite the

illegality of their actions, andw

ith little regard for their own

personal safety, people of allraces, classes, and gendersparticipated in this w

idespreadform

of civil disobedience.T

he Underground R

ailroadB

icycle Route honors the

bravery of those who sought

their freedom and those w

hoprovided shelter. Please enjoyyour ride through the areaknow

n as Freedom’s Landing.

RIPLEYT

he village of Ripley w

asan im

portant stop on theU

nderground Railroad. Situ-

ated on the banks of the Ohio

River, a dividing line betw

eenslavery and freedom

, thisborderland com

munity had

some of the m

ost active sta-tions in O

hio. The geography

helped shape its role; creekbeds threw

off tracking dogs,and hills and valleys providedexcellent hiding places andescape routes.

It was in this setting that

Rev. John R

ankin crossed theO

hio River on D

ecember 31,

1821, to begin his new life in

a free state. An active abolitionist and M

ethodist minister, R

ankinand his entire fam

ily became w

ell known by both freedom

seekersand slave holders alike for their role in the U

nderground Railroad.

The R

ankin House, located on Liberty H

ill, overlooks the Ohio

River and the tow

n of Ripley and is one of the m

ost recognizedsites on the U

nderground Railroad. R

ankin said, “My house has

been the door of freedom to m

any human beings but w

hile therew

as a hazard of life and property, there was m

uch happiness ingiving safety to the trem

bling fugitives.”T

he Parker H

ouse, owned by John Parker, advanced his status

from form

er slave to successful patented inventor and businessman

in Ripley before the C

ivil War. H

e is credited with assisting

hundreds of slaves as they made their w

ay north to freedom.

According to Parker’s recorded journals, the real w

arfare againstslavery in the borderlands along the O

hio River w

as waged around

the few houses at the top of the riverbank on Front Street in

Ripley.

The village becam

e so well know

n that Rev. C

alvin Fairbanks,also an active conductor on the U

nderground Railroad, w

as toldthat R

ipley was a “black, dirty A

bolition hole” when he crossed

the ferry to Ripley in 1844.

During the C

ivil War, G

eneral John Hunt M

organ and otherleading C

onfederate raiders had sworn to burn this “dam

nedabolitionist hellhole to the ground.”

In February, 1838, a Kentucky slave w

oman and her young

child crossed the partially frozen Ohio R

iver with slave hunters

on the chase. Somehow

she managed to escape both her torm

entorsand the m

elting pockets of ice that broke with her every step,

plunging her and the baby into its freezing waters. W

et and frozen,she sought refuge at the R

ankin home. Later, R

ankin recountedher story of courage to H

arriet Beecher Stow

e. This story, in turn,

inspired the character of Eliza in Beecher’s novel U

ncle Tom’s

Cabin.

Ripley’s history continues to inspire and intrigue historians,

residents, and visitors. As you travel through R

ipley, picture thepast – slaves escaping the river, running through the alleys, andclim

bing the steep bank to Rankin’s house, the beacon of freedom

.A

nd think about the dangers for those who believed that enslaving

humans w

as wrong – great A

mericans w

ho put their convictionsin m

otion and had the courage to say no to slavery.

RED OAKT

he Red O

ak Church w

as the next stop on the Underground

Railroad for those freedom

seekers heading directly north.A

ccording to the paper, “Acorns from

Red O

ak,” the Red O

akC

hurch was founded in 1798 and the first building w

as erected ina grove on R

ed Oak C

reek. The first religious m

eetings in Brow

nC

ounty were held here. A

fter the second log church burned in1816, w

ork began on the stone churchw

hich still serves the tiny congregationtoday.

On the subject of slavery, Judge W

.W

. Gilliland, an early church m

ember,

was quoted as saying, “T

he oppositionto slavery at R

ed Oak w

as almost uni-

versal from the origin of the church. A

large part of the church mem

bers as well

as the pastor wanted to be free from

thecurse of A

frican slavery. They soon

became active conductors on the U

n-derground R

ailroad.”T

here are two cem

eteries on theproperty, one dates from

before the Civil

War and the other is still in use.

GEORGETOWN

The village of G

eorgetown is proud of its connection to the

Civil W

ar. This com

munity w

as the boyhood home of U

nionG

eneral Ulysses S. G

rant from 1823-1839, the longest period of

time G

rant spent in one residence. Be sure to visit the G

rantH

ome and G

rant Schoolhouse on your ride through town.

John A. R

uthven, an internationally acclaimed w

ildlife artist,is a resident of G

eorgetown and has a studio open to the public.

John was part of the recovery team

that searched for the ivory-billed w

oodpecker. In 2005, the U. S. Secretary of the Interior in

Washington D

. C. unveiled a painting of the ivory-billed w

ood-pecker he created.

The com

munity of G

eorgetown is quaint and slow

paced. Enjoysoaking up the history and hospitality of this lovely southern O

hiotow

n.

Wel

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r bic

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ture

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tion

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nere

d w

ith th

e C

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ority

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lth (C

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he U

nive

rsity

of P

itts

burg

h in

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nsyl

vani

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ww

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lthy

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s. B

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orga

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s sha

re a

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goal

in c

reat

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e.Fi

rst,

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t to

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ty-f

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eric

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port

unit

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ore

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t one

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halle

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ltur

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tory

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ote

the

joys

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velin

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natu

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cle

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n ac

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indi

vidu

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f all

ages

, wal

ks o

f life

, and

cul

tura

l bac

kgro

unds

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belie

ve th

is n

ewhe

rita

ge ro

ute

— w

heth

er e

njoy

ed fo

r a d

ay tr

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wee

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dven

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,or

an

even

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will

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vide

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spar

k to

intr

oduc

e ev

er m

ore

peop

le to

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won

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ul m

ode

of tr

avel

.A

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l par

tner

s in

deve

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rom

otin

g th

is h

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rout

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eatt

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ased

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ten.

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bik

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ey’ll

be

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stor

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e ab

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w.a

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cycl

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org/

ugrr

.R

ipley Presbyterian Church, R

everendR

ankin’s church, in Ripley.

Cyclists enjoy the view

from the R

ankin House in R

ipley.

DENNIS COELLO

DENNIS COELLO

COVER PHOTO BY DENNIS COELLO

DENNIS COELLO

Dis

cov

er

Am

eri

ca’s

Le

gen

da

ry

Ro

ute

to

Fre

ed

om

DISC

LAIM

ER: A

dven

ture

Cyc

ling

Asso

ciat

ion

has

prod

uced

this

map

sol

ely

as a

nai

d fo

r bic

yclis

ts. B

y pr

oduc

ing

it, n

eith

er A

dven

ture

Cyc

ling

Asso

ciat

ion,

the

Brow

nCo

unty

Tour

ism

Offi

ce, t

he li

sted

spo

nsor

s, n

or th

e Oh

io D

epar

tmen

t of T

rans

porta

tion

war

rant

s th

e sa

fety

of t

hose

who

bic

ycle

on

the

road

s us

ed. T

he u

ser a

ssum

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eris

ks e

ncou

nter

ed, a

nd is

adv

ised

to u

se g

ood

judg

emen

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obe

y al

l tra

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law

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Tha

nks

to o

ur g

ener

ous

spon

sors

Go

vern

or'

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ffic

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pal

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Bro

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Adve

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soci

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a n

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mem

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supp

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bicy

clin

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gani

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ur m

issi

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to in

spire

peo

ple

ofal

l age

s to

trav

el b

y bi

cycl

e. W

e he

lp c

yclis

ts e

xplo

re th

e la

ndsc

apes

and

hist

ory

of A

mer

ica

for f

itnes

s, fu

n, a

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elf-

disc

over

y.Ou

r Nat

iona

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ycle

Rou

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etw

ork

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mpa

sses

36,

180

mile

sof

map

ped

bicy

cle

rout

es. T

hese

eas

y-to

-rea

d m

aps

have

info

rmat

ion

on ri

ding

con

ditio

ns, s

ervi

ces,

wea

ther

, and

loca

l his

tory

. For

a fu

lllis

ting

of a

ll th

e ro

utes

ava

ilabl

e, v

isit

our w

ebsi

te:

ww

w.a

dven

ture

cycl

ing.

org

An A

dven

ture

Cyc

ling

mem

bers

hip

is $

35.0

0 a

year

. Mem

ber

bene

fits

incl

ude:

■9

issu

es o

f Adv

entu

re C

ycli

st m

agaz

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■T

he C

yclis

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ello

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ages

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sour

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■Or

gani

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tour

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Disc

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map

sFo

r a m

ore

info

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call

1-80

0-75

5-24

53, e

-mai

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fo@

adve

ntur

ecyc

ling.

org,

or w

rite

to u

s w

ithyo

ur n

ame

and

addr

ess

at: 1

50 E

. Pin

e St

.,M

isso

ula,

MT,

5980

2

Ad

vent

ure

Cyc

ling

Ass

oci

atio

n

For m

ore

info

rmat

ion

abou

t the

Und

ergr

ound

Rai

lroad

in B

row

n Co

unty

, con

tact

the

Brow

n Co

unty

Tou

rism

offic

e.Ph

one:

937

-378

-197

0, c

ell 5

13-3

04-1

523

Web

site

: ww

w.co

unty.

brow

n.oh

.us

Emai

l: br

ownc

ount

ytou

rism

@co

unty.

brow

n.oh

.us

Ad

ven

ture

Cyc

ling

Ass

oci

atio

n

Lake E

rie

Maum

eeR

iver

Scioto

River

Ohio

River

Ohio

River

80

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ON

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IO

KE

NT

UC

KY

MIC

HIG

AN

WE

ST V

IRG

INIA

Colum

bus

Charleston

Akron

Cincinnati

Cleveland

Dayton

Toledo

Lexington

Ripley

PENNSYLVANIA

INDIANA

➤

050 m

iles

50 kilom

eters0

Ohio

River

Ripley

OH

IO

KY

52

6862

6268