African Americans in Ohio

Ohio was a destination for escaped African Americans slaves before the Civil War. In the early 1870s, the Society of Friends members actively helped former black slaves in their search of freedom. The state was important in the operation of the Underground Railroad. While a few escaped enslaved blacks passed through the state on the way to Canada, a large population of blacks settled in Ohio, especially in big cities like Cleveland and Cincinnati. By 1860, around 37,000 blacks lived in the state.