Community to celebrate addition of Red Oak Presbyterian Church to Appalachian Freedom Heritage Tour
Red Oak Presbyterian Church. Founded in the late eighteenth century in Brown County, Ohio, the church became a center of abolitionist activity, helping guide freedom seekers, including Lewis and Harriet Hayden, who went on to become influential abolitionists and whose Boston home became an important stop on the Underground Railroad. Image courtesy: Ohio History Connection.
IRONTON — On Saturday, April 25 at 11 a.m., Red Oak Presbyterian Church will be formally recognized as part of the Appalachian Freedom Heritage Tour, with a public historical program and marker dedication ceremony held at the site. Supported by an Appalachian Regional Commission POWER Grant awarded to the Lawrence Economic Development Corporation, the addition of Red Oak marks another important step forward for the Appalachian Freedom Heritage Tourism Initiative, a nine-county effort connecting 27 verified Underground Railroad sites across Ohio, Kentucky, and West Virginia.
Red Oak Presbyterian Church joins a growing network of documented sites along the Ohio River corridor that help illuminate the region’s role in assisting freedom seekers. Previously recognized by the National Park Service as part of the Network to Freedom, the site now becomes a featured stop on the regional tour, expanding public access to its story.
The marker text explains the site’s connection to the Underground Railroad:
Red Oak Presbyterian Church and the Eastern Route
Founded in 1798 in the Appalachian foothills of southern Ohio, Red Oak Presbyterian Church (built, 1817) became a center of antislavery advocacy and Underground Railroad activity. Under Rev. James Gilliland’s leadership, members sheltered freedom seekers and directed routes that divided here: the “North Star Line” ran north to Russellville, Sardinia, and the Gist Settlement, while the “Eastern Route” crossed the hills to Decatur, Cherry Fork, Mt. Leigh, and Tranquility in Adams County. In 1844, Lewis and Harriet Hayden and her son, Joseph escaped from Kentucky through Red Oak with help from Archibald and Margaret Hopkins, leaders of the congregation. Red Oak Presbyterian Church and Cemetery stand as a testament to the role of faith and courage in the struggle for freedom.
The dedication ceremony will take place at 5754 Cemetery Road, Ripley, Ohio 45167, and will include remarks from project partners and local historians, followed by the unveiling of the new interpretive marker.
“With each new site added to the tour,” explained Andrew Feight, Ph.D., Director of Research and Outreach for the Initiative, “a clearer picture of the Underground Railroad in the Ohio River valley is coming into focus. Red Oak helps us tell both the local and national dimensions of this history. It was along this route that Lewis and Harriet Hayden passed on their journey to freedom, a story that connects Brown County directly to the broader national abolitionist movement, reminding us that the work of freedom seeking and resistance in Appalachian Ohio had far-reaching consequences.”
Marty Conley, Director of the Lawrence Economic Development Corporation, emphasized the regional impact of the designation: “The addition of Red Oak Presbyterian Church to the Appalachian Freedom Heritage Tour strengthens the story we are telling across the tri-state region. Brown County played a vital role in the Underground Railroad, and sites like Red Oak help us draw visitors to the region, support local tourism efforts, and ensure these stories are passed down to future generations.”
Rick Bauer, church historian, emphasized the broader significance of the site:
“I’m happy to see the Red Oak Presbyterian Church, its pioneering abolitionist families, and church leadership have been recognized by the Appalachian Freedom Heritage Tourism Initiative and am looking forward to sharing how a handful of founding families made a major impact on the Underground Railroad in the Midwest and affected abolitionist thinking from coast to coast.”
The Appalachian Freedom Heritage Tourism Initiative is working to preserve and interpret the stories of freedom seekers and those who aided them, while fostering heritage tourism and community engagement across the tri-state region.
The Network to Freedom program, created by Congress in 1998, highlights more than 800 places and programs. The Network verifies that each one is a true story about the men, women and children who freed themselves or were helped by others to escape enslavement. Some succeeded and others, tragically, failed. The Network to Freedom program has listings in 41 states, Washington, D.C., the U.S. Virgin Islands and Canada.
For more information on the Appalachian Freedom Heritage Tourism Initiative, visit www.appalachianfreedom.com.