94-518: Westerville may refer to one of the following places in the United States: Westerville, Ohio , the largest Westerville Westerville, Nebraska , an unincorporated community Westerville Township, Custer County, Nebraska See also [ edit ] Westernville, New York Westreville, South Dakota Westville (disambiguation) [REDACTED] Topics referred to by
188-758: A saloon in Westerville, and each time the townspeople blew up his establishment with gunpowder. Westerville's reputation for temperance was so significant that in 1909 the Anti-Saloon League moved its national headquarters from Washington, D.C. to Westerville. The League, at the forefront of the Prohibition movement , gained its greatest triumph when the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
282-611: A Mexican port from New Orleans , Louisiana and Galveston, Texas . There were some who transported cotton to Brownsville, Texas on wagons and then crossed into Mexico at Matamoros . Sometimes someone would come 'long and try to get us to run up north and be free. We used to laugh at that. —Former slave Felix Haywood, interviewed in 1937 for the federal Slave Narrative Project. Many traveled through North Carolina, Arkansas, Alabama, Louisiana, or Mississippi toward Texas and ultimately Mexico. People fled slavery from Indian Territory (now Oklahoma). Black Seminoles traveled on
376-500: A charred bullfrog. Other runaways escaped into the swamps to wash off their scent. Most escapes occurred at night when the runaways could hide under the cover of darkness. Another method freedom seekers used to prevent capture was carrying forged free passes. During slavery, free Blacks showed proof of their freedom by carrying a pass that proved they were free. Free Blacks and enslaved people created forged free passes for freedom seekers as they traveled through slave states. Despite
470-540: A destination where they were able to remain free." It was known as a railroad, using rail terminology such as stations and conductors, because that was the transportation system in use at the time. The Underground Railroad did not have a headquarters or governing body, nor were there published guides, maps, pamphlets, or even newspaper articles. It consisted of meeting points, secret routes, transportation, and safe houses , all of them maintained by abolitionist sympathizers and communicated by word of mouth , although there
564-701: A forged passport from a Kentucky judge. The Spanish refused to return them back to the United States. More freedom seekers traveled through Texas the following year. Enslaved people were emancipated by crossing the border from the United States into Mexico, which was a Spanish colony into the nineteenth century. In the United States, enslaved people were considered property. That meant that they did not have rights to marry and they could be sold away from their partners. They also did not have rights to fight inhumane and cruel punishment. In New Spain , fugitive slaves were recognized as humans. They were allowed to join
658-676: A former slave, were agents on the Underground Railroad and helped other slaves escape from slavery crossing the Mississippi River. Routes were often purposely indirect to confuse pursuers. Most escapes were by individuals or small groups; occasionally, there were mass escapes, such as with the Pearl incident . The journey was often considered particularly difficult and dangerous for women or children. Children were sometimes hard to keep quiet or were unable to keep up with
752-411: A group. In addition, enslaved women were rarely allowed to leave the plantation, making it harder for them to escape in the same ways that men could. Although escaping was harder for women, some women were successful. One of the most famous and successful conductors (people who secretly traveled into slave states to rescue those seeking freedom) was Harriet Tubman , a woman who escaped slavery. Due to
846-511: A male householder with no wife present, and 29.3% were non-families. 24.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 2.96. The median age in the city was 41.2 years. 22.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 10.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.2% were from 25 to 44; 31.1% were from 45 to 64; and 14.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of
940-547: A message was sent to the next station to let the station master know the escapees were on their way. They would stop at the so-called "stations" or "depots" during the day and rest. The stations were often located in basements, barns, churches, or in hiding places in caves. The resting spots where the freedom seekers could sleep and eat were given the code names "stations" and "depots", which were held by "station masters". "Stockholders" gave money or supplies for assistance. Using biblical references, fugitives referred to Canada as
1034-557: A part of the foodways of Black Americans called soul food . The majority of freedom seekers that escaped from slavery did not have help from an abolitionist. Although there are stories of black and white abolitionists helping freedom seekers escape from slavery, many escapes were unaided. Other Underground Railroad escape routes for freedom seekers were maroon communities . Maroon communities were hidden places, such as wetlands or marshes, where escaped slaves established their own independent communities. Examples of maroon communities in
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#17327756034941128-584: A route from Natchitoches, Louisiana to Monclova , Mexico in 2010 that is roughly the southern Underground Railroad path. It is also believed that El Camino Real de los Tejas was a path for freedom. It was made a National Historic Trail by President George W. Bush in 2004. Some journeyed on their own without assistance, and others were helped by people along the southern Underground Railroad. Assistance included guidance, directions, shelter, and supplies. Black people, black and white couples, and anti-slavery German immigrants provided support, but most of
1222-616: A southwestern route from Florida into Mexico. Going overland meant that the last 150 miles or so were traversed through the difficult and extremely hot terrain of the Nueces Strip located between the Nueces River and the Rio Grande . There was little shade and a lack of potable water in this brush country. Escapees were more likely to survive the trip if they had a horse and a gun. The National Park Service identified
1316-718: A time. Free and enslaved black men occupied as mariners (sailors) helped enslaved people escape from slavery by providing a ride on their ship, providing information on the safest and best escape routes, and safe locations on land, and locations of trusted people for assistance. Enslaved African-American mariners had information about slave revolts occurring in the Caribbean, and relayed this news to enslaved people they had contact with in American ports. Free and enslaved African-American mariners assisted Harriet Tubman in her rescue missions. Black mariners provided to her information about
1410-468: Is also a report of a numeric code used to encrypt messages. Participants generally organized in small, independent groups; this helped to maintain secrecy. People escaping enslavement would move north along the route from one way station to the next. "Conductors" on the railroad came from various backgrounds and included free-born blacks , white abolitionists, the formerly enslaved (either escaped or manumitted ), and Native Americans. Believing that slavery
1504-630: Is called State Street. Streetcars plied the avenues of Westerville from the late nineteenth century but service was discontinued in 1929. Today, Westerville offers little in the way of public transportation . The city itself operates no public buses, but the Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) serves Westerville with five bus lines. T. Marzetti Company and its parent Lancaster Colony Corporation, as well as Mac Tools are headquartered in Westerville. According to Westerville's 2023 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report,
1598-518: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Westerville, Ohio Westerville is a city in Franklin and Delaware counties in the U.S. state of Ohio . A northeastern suburb of Columbus as well as the home of Otterbein University , the population was 39,190 at the 2020 census . Westerville was once known as "The Dry Capital of
1692-635: Is served by the Westerville City School District . The district operates three high schools: Westerville South High School , an International Baccalaureate School, which opened in 1960 as Westerville High School; Westerville North High School (opened 1975); and Westerville Central High School (opened 2003). In addition, Westerville has five middle and sixteen elementary schools. The middle schools are Blendon, Genoa, Heritage, Minerva Park, and Walnut Springs. The elementary schools are Emerson (a magnet school that opened in 1896 as
1786-466: The Canada–U.S. border . Freedom seekers (runaway slaves) foraged, fished, and hunted for food on their journey to freedom on the Underground Railroad. With these ingredients, they prepared one-pot meals (stews), a West African cooking method. Enslaved and free Black people left food outside their front doors to provide nourishment to the freedom seekers. The meals created on the Underground Railroad became
1880-536: The Detroit River . Thomas Downing was a free Black man in New York and operated his Oyster restaurant as a stop on the Underground Railroad. Freedom seekers (runaway slaves) escaping slavery and seeking freedom hid in the basement of Downing's restaurant. Enslaved people helped freedom seekers escape from slavery. Arnold Gragstone was enslaved and helped runaways escape from slavery by guiding them across
1974-675: The Great Cypress Swamp in southern Sussex County, Delaware . African Americans escaping slavery were able to hide in swamps, and the water washed off the scent of enslaved runaways making it difficult for dogs to track their scent. As early as the 18th centuries, mixed blood communities formed. In Maryland , freedom seekers escaped to Shawnee villages located along the Potomac River . Slaveholders in Virginia and Maryland filed numerous complaints and court petitions against
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#17327756034942068-554: The Mexican–American War of the 1840s, captured and returned fleeing enslaved people to their slaveholders. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 made it a criminal act to aid fleeing escaping enslaved people in free states . Similarly, the United States government wanted to enact a treaty with Mexico so that they would help capture and return bonds-people. Mexico, however, continued their practice to allow anyone that crossed their borders to be free. Slave catchers continued to cross
2162-594: The Mississippi River near St. Louis, Missouri to the free state of Illinois. To assist with the escape were white antislavery activists and an African American guide from Illinois named "Freeman." However, the escape was not successful because word of the escape reached police agents and slave catchers who waited across the river on the Illinois shore. Breckenridge, Burrows and Meachum were arrested. Prior to this escape attempt, Mary Meachum and her husband John,
2256-578: The Ohio Historical Society and managed locally by the Westerville Historical Society. It is the only state memorial to a composer in the state of Ohio. An 1859 town ordinance prohibited sales of alcohol in Westerville. By the 1870s, a burgeoning conflict between pro- and anti- temperance forces boiled over into the so-called "Westerville Whiskey Wars". Twice, in 1875 and 1879, businessman Henry Corbin opened
2350-585: The Ohio River for their freedom. William Still , sometimes called "The Father of the Underground Railroad", helped hundreds of slaves escape (as many as 60 a month), sometimes hiding them in his Philadelphia home. He kept careful records, including short biographies of the people, that contained frequent railway metaphors. He maintained correspondence with many of them, often acting as a middleman in communications between people who had escaped slavery and those left behind. He later published these accounts in
2444-590: The colonial militia . After King Charles II of Spain proclaimed Spanish Florida a safe haven for escaped slaves from British North America, they began escaping to Florida by the hundreds from as far north as New York . The Spanish established Fort Mose for free Blacks in the St. Augustine area in 1738. In 1806, enslaved people arrived at the Stone Fort in Nacogdoches, Texas seeking freedom. They arrived with
2538-680: The trans-Appalachian west . During the colonial ear in New Spain and in the Seminole Nation in Florida, African Americans and Indigenous marriages occurred. Beginning in the 16th century, Spaniards brought enslaved Africans to New Spain , including Mission Nombre de Dios in what would become the city of St. Augustine in Spanish Florida . Over time, free Afro-Spaniards took up various trades and occupations and served in
2632-526: The " Promised Land " or "Heaven" and the Ohio River , which marked the boundary between slave states and free states , as the " River Jordan ". Although the freedom seekers sometimes traveled on boat or train, they usually traveled on foot or by wagon, sometimes lying down, covered with hay or similar products, in groups of one to three escapees. Some groups were considerably larger. Abolitionist Charles Turner Torrey and his colleagues rented horses and wagons and often transported as many as 15 or 20 people at
2726-415: The "passengers" were not sent on the usual train, but rather via Reading, Pennsylvania . In this case, the authorities were tricked into going to the regular location (station) in an attempt to intercept the runaways, while Still met them at the correct station and guided them to safety. They eventually escaped either further north or to Canada, where slavery had been abolished during the 1830s. To reduce
2820-817: The Catholic Church and marry. They also were protected from inhumane and cruel punishment. During the War of 1812 , U.S. Army general Andrew Jackson invaded Spanish Florida in part because enslaved people had run away from plantations in the Carolinas and Georgia to Florida. Some of the runaways joined the Black Seminoles who later moved to Mexico. However, Mexico sent mixed signals on its position against slavery. Sometimes it allowed enslaved people to be returned to slavery and it allowed Americans to move into Spanish territorial property in order to populate
2914-727: The Niagara River and connected New York to Canada. Enslaved runaways used the bridge to escape their bondage, and Harriet Tubman used the bridge to take freedom seekers into Canada. Those traveling via the New York Adirondacks , sometimes via Black communities like Timbuctoo, New York , entered Canada via Ogdensburg , on the St. Lawrence River , or on Lake Champlain ( Joshua Young assisted). The western route, used by John Brown among others, led from Missouri west to free Kansas and north to free Iowa, then east via Chicago to
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3008-557: The North hid freedom seekers in their churches and homes. Historian Cheryl Janifer Laroche explained in her book, Free Black Communities and the Underground Railroad The Geography of Resistance that: "Blacks, enslaved and free, operated as the main actors in the central drama that was the Underground Railroad." Laroche further explained how some authors center white abolitionists and white people involved in
3102-580: The North, where the Americans would then establish cotton plantations, bringing enslaved people to work the land. In 1829, Mexican president Vicente Guerrero (who was a mixed race black man) formally abolished slavery in Mexico. Freedom seekers from Southern plantations in the Deep South , particularly from Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, escaped slavery and headed for Mexico. At that time, Texas
3196-578: The Ottawa. In Upper Sandusky , Wyandot people allowed a maroon community of freedom seekers in their lands called Negro Town for four decades. In the 18th and 19th centuries in areas around the Chesapeake Bay and Delaware , Nanticoke people hid freedom seekers in their villages. The Nanticoke people lived in small villages near the Pocomoke River ; the river rises in several forks in
3290-681: The Panama route. Slaveholders used the Panama route to reach California. In Panama slavery was illegal and Black Panamanians encouraged enslaved people from the United States to escape into the local city of Panama. Freedom seekers created methods to throw off the slave catchers ' bloodhounds from tracking their scent. One method was using a combination of hot pepper, lard, and vinegar on their shoes. In North Carolina freedom seekers put turpentine on their shoes to prevent slave catchers' dogs from tracking their scents, in Texas escapees used paste made from
3384-617: The Shawnee and Nanticoke for hiding freedom seekers in their villages. Odawa people also accepted freedom seekers into their villages. The Odawa transferred the runaways to the Ojibwe who escorted them to Canada. Some enslaved people who escaped slavery and fled to Native American villages stayed in their communities. White pioneers who traveled to Kentucky and the Ohio Territory saw " Black Shawnees " living with Indigenous people in
3478-668: The Texas Runaway Slave Project at Stephen F. Austin State University . Advertisements were placed in newspapers offering rewards for the return of their "property". Slave catchers traveled through Mexico. There were Black Seminoles , or Los Mascogos who lived in northern Mexico who provided armed resistance. Sam Houston , president of the Republic of Texas , was the slaveholder to Tom who ran away. He headed to Texas and once there he enlisted in
3572-576: The Underground Railroad began to organize in the 1780s among Abolitionist Societies in the North . It ran north and grew steadily until the Emancipation Proclamation was signed in 1863 by President Abraham Lincoln . The escapees sought primarily to escape into free states , and from there to Canada. The network, primarily the work of free and enslaved African Americans, was assisted by abolitionists and others sympathetic to
3666-400: The United States between 1672 and 1864. The history of maroons showed how the enslaved resisted enslavement by living in free independent settlements. Historical archeologist Dan Sayer says that historians downplay the importance of maroon settlements and place valor in white involvement in the Underground Railroad, which he argues shows a racial bias, indicating a "...reluctance to acknowledge
3760-614: The United States by slave hunters. Freedom seekers that were taken on ferries to Mexican ports were aided by Mexican ship captains, one of whom was caught in Louisiana and indicted for helping enslaved people escape. Knowing the repercussions of running away or being caught helping someone runaway, people were careful to cover their tracks, and public and personal records about fugitive slaves are scarce. In greater supply are records by people who promoted slavery or attempted to catch fugitive slaves. More than 2,500 escapes are documented by
3854-667: The United States include the Black Seminole communities in Florida, as well as groups that lived in the Great Dismal Swamp in Virginia and in the Okefenokee swamp of Georgia and Florida, among others. In the 1780s, Louisiana had a maroon community in the bayous of Saint Malo . The leader of the Saint Malo maroon community was Jean Saint Malo , a freedom seeker who escaped to live among other runaways in
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3948-624: The Vine Street School), Hanby (magnet), Longfellow, Alcott, Annehurst, Cherrington, Fouse, Hawthorne, Huber Ridge, Mark Twain, McVay, Minerva France, Pointview, Robert Frost, Whittier, and Wilder. In the early days before the town's incorporation, Westerville was connected to Columbus by a plank road with a toll of ten cents. Today, Westerville borders Interstate 71 and Interstate 270 (the Columbus Outerbelt), expressways that connect it with Columbus and other suburbs. Via
4042-473: The World" for its strict laws prohibiting sales of alcohol and for being the home of the Anti-Saloon League , one of the driving forces behind Prohibition at the beginning of the 20th century. Cultures have inhabited the Westerville area for several millennia. Paleo-Indians and their successor cultures inhabited the area between Big Walnut Creek and Alum Creek . The Wyandot were the primary inhabitants by
4136-592: The age of sixteen, to enroll at Otterbein University. Hanby went on to write many familiar hymns and songs, among them " Darling Nelly Gray " (inspired by his sympathy for Southern slaves ), "Who is He in Yonder Stall?", and the Christmas favorite " Up On The Housetop ". His home in Westerville, listed on the National Register of Historic Places , was dedicated as a museum in 1937 and is now owned by
4230-451: The antislavery movement as the main factors for freedom seekers escapes and overlook the important role of free Black communities. In addition, author Diane Miller states: "Traditionally, historians have overlooked the agency of African Americans in their own quest for freedom by portraying the Underground Railroad as an organized effort by white religious groups, often Quakers, to aid 'helpless' slaves." Historian Larry Gara argues that many of
4324-528: The article from memory as closely as he could. Members of the Underground Railroad often used specific terms, based on the metaphor of the railway. For example: The Big Dipper (whose "bowl" points to the North Star ) was known as the drinkin' gourd . The Railroad was often known as the "freedom train" or "Gospel train", which headed towards "Heaven" or "the Promised Land", i.e., Canada. For
4418-438: The best escape routes and helped her on her rescue missions. In New Bedford, Massachusetts , freedom seekers stowed away on ships leaving the docks with the assistance of Black and white crewmembers and hid in the ships' cargoes during their journey to freedom. Enslaved people living near rivers escaped on boats and canoes. In 1855, Mary Meachum , a free Black woman, attempted to help eight or nine slaves escape from slavery on
4512-574: The book The Underground Railroad: Authentic Narratives and First-Hand Accounts (1872), a valuable resource for historians to understand how the system worked and learn about individual ingenuity in escapes. According to Still, messages were often encoded so that they could be understood only by those active in the railroad. For example, the following message, "I have sent via at two o'clock four large hams and two small hams", indicated that four adults and two children were sent by train from Harrisburg to Philadelphia. The additional word via indicated that
4606-566: The cause of the escapees . The enslaved people who risked capture and those who aided them are also collectively referred to as the passengers and conductors of the Railroad, respectively. Various other routes led to Mexico, where slavery had been abolished, and to islands in the Caribbean that were not part of the slave trade. An earlier escape route running south toward Florida , then a Spanish possession (except 1763–1783), existed from
4700-414: The city was $ 69,135, and the median income for a family was $ 82,163. Males had a median income of $ 55,053 versus $ 36,510 for females. The per capita income for the city was $ 29,401. About 2.5% of families and 3.5% of the population were below the poverty line , including 3.5% of those under the age of 18 and 5.0% of those ages 65 and older. Otterbein University , a private four-year liberal arts college,
4794-594: The city was 47.0% male and 53.0% female. As of the census of 2000, there were 35,318 people, 12,663 households, and 9,547 families living in the city. The population density was 2,851.1 inhabitants per square mile (1,100.8/km ). There were 13,143 housing units at an average density of 1,061.0 units per square mile (409.7 units/km ). The racial makeup of the city was 93.54% White , 3.20% African American , 0.13% Native American , 1.55% Asian , 0.03% Pacific Islander , 0.36% from other races , and 1.19% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.07% of
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#17327756034944888-418: The city was 88.6% White , 6.4% African American , 0.2% Native American , 2.3% Asian , 0.5% from other races , and 2.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.9% of the population. There were 13,859 households, of which 31.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.7% were married couples living together, 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 2.9% had
4982-638: The city's free Black community, and also hid on other steamboats leaving Alabama that were headed further northward into free territories and free states. In 1852, a law was passed by the Alabama legislature to reduce the number of freedom seekers escaping on boats. The law penalized slaveholders and captains of vessels if they allowed enslaved people on board without a pass. Alabama freedom seekers also made canoes to escape. Freedom seekers escaped from their enslavers in Panama on boats heading for California by way of
5076-526: The council-manager system to the present day. The city elects seven council members at large for four-year terms; the council selects from among its own a member to serve as mayor, vice mayor, chair, and vice chair. Under the City Charter, the mayor is only "the ceremonial head of the government" of the city. The council additionally selects the city manager, who serves indefinitely. In 2007, David Collinsworth replaced David Lindimore as city manager after
5170-667: The end of the American Civil War 500,000 or more African Americans self-emancipated themselves from slavery on the Underground Railroad. Eric Foner wrote that the term "was perhaps first used by a Washington newspaper in 1839, quoting a young slave hoping to escape bondage via a railroad that 'went underground all the way to Boston'". Dr. Robert Clemens Smedley wrote that following slave catchers' failed searches and lost traces of fugitives as far north as Columbia, Pennsylvania , they declared in bewilderment that "there must be an underground railroad somewhere," giving origin to
5264-582: The first European colony in the continental United States in South Carolina called San Miguel de Gualdape . The enslaved Africans revolted and historians suggest they escaped to Shakori Indigenous communities. As early as 1689, enslaved Africans fled from the South Carolina Lowcountry to Spanish Florida seeking freedom. The Seminole Nation accepted Gullah runaways (today called Black Seminoles ) into their lands. This
5358-640: The first beer in Uptown Westerville in over 70 years. On October 15, 2019, Westerville hosted the fourth 2020 Democratic Primary Presidential Debate which had over 12 candidates on stage. To date, it is the largest primary debate in American history. In 2020 Westerville was named as the best suburban city in America based on a study conducted by Movoto Real Estate. The study, which surveyed criteria such as cost of living and crime, compared Westerville to 75 geographically diverse suburban cities across
5452-435: The fugitive slave laws and regulations was a major justification offered for secession . Underground Railroad routes went north to free states and Canada, to the Caribbean, to United States western territories, and to Indian territories . Some fugitive slaves traveled south into Mexico for their freedom. Many escaped by sea, including Ona Judge , who had been enslaved by President George Washington . Some historians view
5546-1004: The fugitive slaves who "rode" the Underground Railroad, many of them considered Canada their final destination. An estimated 30,000 to 40,000 of them settled in Canada, half of whom came between 1850 and 1860. Others settled in free states in the north. Thousands of court cases for fugitive slaves were recorded between the Revolutionary War and the Civil War . Under the original Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 , officials from free states were required to assist slaveholders or their agents who recaptured fugitives, but some state legislatures prohibited this. The law made it easier for slaveholders and slave catchers to capture African Americans and return them to slavery, and in some cases allowed them to enslave free blacks. It also created an eagerness among abolitionists to help enslaved people, resulting in
5640-486: The growth of anti-slavery societies and the Underground Railroad. With heavy lobbying by Southern politicians, the Compromise of 1850 was passed by Congress after the Mexican–American War . It included a more stringent Fugitive Slave Law ; ostensibly, the compromise addressed regional problems by compelling officials of free states to assist slave catchers, granting them immunity to operate in free states. Because
5734-513: The help came from Mexican laborers. So much so that enslavers came to distrust any Mexican, and a law was enacted in Texas that forbade Mexicans from talking to enslaved people. Mexican migrant workers developed relationships with enslaved black workers whom they worked with. They offered guidance, such as what it would be like to cross the border, and empathy. Having realized the ways in which Mexicans were helping enslaved people to escape, slaveholders and residents of Texan towns pushed people out of
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#17327756034945828-522: The help of Northerners to escape. The Underground Railroad benefited greatly from the geography of the U.S.–Canada border: Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and most of New York were separated from Canada by water, over which transport was usually easy to arrange and relatively safe. The main route for freedom seekers from the South led up the Appalachians, Harriet Tubman going via Harpers Ferry , through
5922-573: The highly anti-slavery Western Reserve region of northeastern Ohio to the vast shore of Lake Erie, and then to Canada by boat. A smaller number, traveling by way of New York or New England, went via Syracuse (home of Samuel May ) and Rochester, New York (home of Frederick Douglass ), crossing the Niagara River or Lake Ontario into Canada. By 1848 the Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge had been built—it crossed
6016-518: The international border with Mexico. Pressure between free and slave states deepened as Mexico abolished slavery and western states joined the Union as free states. As more free states were added to the Union, the lesser the influence of slave state representatives in Congress. The Southern Underground Railroad went through slave states, lacking the abolitionist societies and the organized system of
6110-408: The interstates, central Westerville is 16 miles (26 km) from downtown Columbus and 12 miles (19 km) from John Glenn Columbus International Airport , Central Ohio's primary terminal for air passengers. State Route 3 , the "3-C Highway" which connects Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati, is the chief north–south thoroughfare of the old town center, known as Uptown Westerville, through which it
6204-548: The late 17th century until approximately 1790. During the American Civil War , freedom seekers escaped to Union lines in the South to obtain their freedom. One estimate suggests that, by 1850, approximately 100,000 slaves had escaped to freedom via the network. According to former professor of Pan-African studies, J. Blaine Hudson, who was dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Louisville, by
6298-468: The latter's tenure of twenty-two years. Collinsworth retired in January 2021 alongside assistant City Manager Julie Colley. In 1995, the city annexed 941 non-dry acres of land to its north, which included several alcohol-selling businesses. Subsequently, voters have approved alcohol sales in old Westerville at a number of establishments through site-specific local options . In 2006 Michael's Pizza served
6392-639: The law required sparse documentation to claim a person was a fugitive, slave catchers also kidnapped free blacks , especially children, and sold them into slavery. Southern politicians often exaggerated the number of escaped slaves and often blamed these escapes on Northerners interfering with Southern property rights. The law deprived people suspected of being slaves of the right to defend themselves in court, making it difficult to prove free status. Some Northern states enacted personal liberty laws that made it illegal for public officials to capture or imprison former slaves. The perception that Northern states ignored
6486-474: The library. After Prohibition ended, Westerville remained dry for most of the twentieth century. In 1916, Westerville became the first village (and second municipality) in Ohio to adopt a council-manager form of government , in which a city council makes policy but the town's administrative and many of its executive governmental functions are vested in an appointed, professional manager. Westerville retains
6580-555: The nation. According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 12.61 square miles (32.66 km ), of which 12.47 square miles (32.30 km ) is land and 0.14 square miles (0.36 km ) is water. As of the census of 2010, there were 36,120 people, 13,859 households, and 9,800 families living in the city. The population density was 2,896.6 inhabitants per square mile (1,118.4/km ). There were 14,467 housing units at an average density of 1,160.1 units per square mile (447.9 units/km ). The racial makeup of
6674-419: The north. People who spoke out against slavery were subject to mobs, physical assault, and being hanged. There were slave catchers who looked for runaway slaves. There were never more than a few hundred free blacks in Texas, which meant that free blacks did not feel safe in the state. The network to freedom was informal, random, and dangerous. U.S. military forts, established along the Rio Grande border during
6768-402: The population. There were 12,663 households, out of which 39.3% of those had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.8% were married couples living together, 8.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.6% were non-families. 20.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size
6862-706: The private Otterbein University . Westerville was platted by 1856, and officially incorporated in August 1858. The town's population in that year was 275. Throughout the Antebellum era , several homes in Westerville were stations on the Underground Railroad . Among these is the Hanby House, located one block from the college. Benjamin Russell Hanby had moved to Westerville in 1849, at
6956-470: The risk of discovery, information about routes and safe havens was passed along by word of mouth, although in 1896 there is a reference to a numerical code used to encrypt messages. Southern newspapers of the day were often filled with pages of notices soliciting information about fugitive slaves and offering sizable rewards for their capture and return. Federal marshals and professional bounty hunters known as slave catchers pursued freedom seekers as far as
7050-484: The risk of infiltration, many people associated with the Underground Railroad knew only their part of the operation and not of the whole scheme. "Conductors" led or transported the "passengers" from station to station. A conductor sometimes pretended to be enslaved to enter a plantation . Once a part of a plantation, the conductor would direct the runaways to the North. Enslaved people traveled at night, about 10–20 miles (16–32 km) to each station. They rested, and then
7144-428: The same term This disambiguation page lists articles about distinct geographical locations with the same name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Westerville&oldid=544109470 " Category : Place name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
7238-508: The southern border into Mexico and illegally capture black people and return them to slavery. A group of slave hunters became the Texas Rangers . Thousands of freedom seekers traveled along a network from the southern United States to Texas and ultimately Mexico. Southern enslaved people generally traveled across "unforgiving country" on foot or horseback while pursued by lawmen and slave hunters. Some stowed away on ferries bound for
7332-448: The stories of the Underground Railroad belong in folklore and not history. The actions of real historical figures such as Harriet Tubman, Thomas Garrett , and Levi Coffin are exaggerated, and Northern abolitionists who guided the enslaved to Canada are hailed as the heroes of the Underground Railroad. This narrative minimizes the intelligence and agency of enslaved Black people who liberated themselves, and implies that freedom seekers needed
7426-441: The strength of black resistance and initiative." From colonial America into the 19th century, Indigenous peoples of North America assisted and protected enslaved Africans journey to freedom. However, not all Indigenous communities were accepting of freedom seekers, some of whom they enslaved themselves or returned to their former enslavers. The earliest accounts of escape are from the 16th century. In 1526, Spaniards established
7520-767: The swamps and bayous of Saint Malo. The population of maroons was fifty and the Spanish colonial government broke up the community and on June 19, 1784, Jean Saint Malo was executed. Colonial South Carolina had a number of maroon settlements in its marshland regions in the Lowcountry and near rivers. Maroons in South Carolina fought to maintain their freedom and prevent enslavement in Ashepoo in 1816, Williamsburg County in 1819, Georgetown in 1820, Jacksonborough in 1822, and near Marion in 1861. Historian Herbert Aptheker found evidence that fifty maroon communities existed in
7614-554: The term. Scott Shane wrote that the first documented use of the term was in an article written by Thomas Smallwood in the August 10, 1842, edition of Tocsin of Liberty , an abolitionist newspaper published in Albany. He also wrote that the 1879 book Sketches in the History of the Underground Railroad said the phrase was mentioned in an 1839 Washington newspaper article and that the book's author said 40 years later that he had quoted
7708-482: The thoroughfare's name, the escape network was neither literally underground nor a railroad. (The first literal underground railroad did not exist until 1863 .) According to John Rankin , "It was so called because they who took passage on it disappeared from public view as really as if they had gone into the ground. After the fugitive slaves entered a depot on that road no trace of them could be found. They were secretly passed from one depot to another until they arrived at
7802-403: The time Europeans arrived, living along Alum Creek. They were forced out of Ohio in 1843. The land that is today Westerville was settled by those of European ancestry around 1810. In 1818, Matthew, Peter, and William Westervelt, settlers of Dutch extraction, migrated to the area from New York. Matthew Westervelt donated land for the construction of a Methodist church in 1836, and the settlement
7896-437: The top employers in the city are: Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was used by freedom seekers from slavery in the United States and was generally an organized network of secret routes and safe houses. Enslaved Africans and African Americans escaped from slavery as early as the 16th century and many of their escapes were unaided, but the network of safe houses operated by agents generally known as
7990-425: The town, whipped them in public, or lynched them. Some border officials helped enslaved people crossing into Mexico. In Monclova , Mexico a border official took up a collection in the town for a family in need of food, clothing, and money to continue on their journey south and out of reach of slave hunters. Once they crossed the border, some Mexican authorities helped former enslaved people from being returned to
8084-546: The waterways of the South as an important component for freedom seekers to escape as water sources were pathways to freedom. In addition, historians of the Underground Railroad found 200,000 runaway slave advertisements in North American newspapers from the middle of the 1700s until the end of the American Civil War. Freedom seekers in Alabama hid on steamboats heading to Mobile, Alabama in hopes of blending in among
8178-620: Was "contrary to the ethics of Jesus", Christian congregations and clergy played a role, especially the Religious Society of Friends ( Quakers ), Congregationalists , Wesleyan Methodists , and Reformed Presbyterians , as well as the anti-slavery branches of mainstream denominations which entered into schism over the issue, such as the Methodist Episcopal Church and the Baptists . The role of free blacks
8272-408: Was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.11. In the city the population was spread out, with 26.9% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 26.5% from 45 to 64, and 10.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.9 males. The median income for a household in
8366-476: Was a southern route on the Underground Railroad into Seminole Indian lands that went from Georgia and the Carolinas into Florida. In Northwest Ohio in the 18th and 19th centuries, three Indigenous/Native American nations, the Shawnee , Ottawa, and Wyandot assisted freedom seekers escape from slavery. The Ottawa people accepted and protected runaways in their villages. Other escapees were taken to Fort Malden by
8460-498: Was crucial; without it, there would have been almost no chance for fugitives from slavery to reach freedom safely. The groups of underground railroad "agents" worked in organizations known as vigilance committees . Free Black communities in Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and New York helped freedom seekers escape from slavery. Black Churches were stations on the Underground Railroad, and Black communities in
8554-784: Was founded by the United Brethren Church in 1847 and is now home to over 3,000 students. The United Brethren Church has since merged with the Methodist Church and is now the United Methodist Church , with which the college continues to be affiliated. Other colleges and universities in Westerville Ohio include Hondros College, Franklin University (branch), Dominion University , The Ohio State School of Cosmetology, Columbus State Westerville Center (branch) and Fortis College. Westerville
8648-631: Was part of Mexico. The Texas Revolution , initiated in part to legalize slavery, resulted in the formation of the Republic of Texas in 1836. Following the Battle of San Jacinto , there were some enslaved people who withdrew from the Houston area with the Mexican army, seeing the troops as a means to escape slavery. When Texas joined the Union in 1845, it was a slave state and the Rio Grande became
8742-489: Was ratified in 1919. The League printed so many leaflets in support of temperance and prohibition—over 40 tons of mail per month—that Westerville, by then known as "The Dry Capital of the World", was the smallest town in the nation to have a first class post office. The League's Westerville headquarters was given to the Westerville Public Library in 1973 and now serves as a museum attached to
8836-600: Was subsequently named in the family's honor. In 1839, the Blendon Young Men's Seminary was chartered in Westerville; Matthew Westervelt was one of its first trustees. The Church of the United Brethren in Christ bought the seminary in 1846, and the next year the seminary was reformed, and renamed Otterbein College after the church's founder Philip William Otterbein . It continues today in Westerville as
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