African-American
As early as the 1770s, when an escaped slave called Caesar lived with the Shawnee, African-Americans played a role in Greene County. As a free state from its founding in 1803, Ohio and particularly Greene County, with militant anti-slavery elements, attracted freed slaves. Runaway slaves followed them on the Underground Railroad. Later, after the Fugitive Slave Act in 1852 made it legal to seize escaped slaves even in free states, the Underground Railroad was extended through Ohio and Greene County allowing slaves to escape to freedom in Canada. In 1856 Tawawa Springs, a popular summer resort that had long provided jobs was transformed into Wilberforce University, a "literary institution of higher order for the education of Negro people generally." In 1862, the Reverend Moncure D. Conway brought over 30 of his father's slaves from Virginia to freedom in Yellow Springs. And this was only the beginning. Greene County…Discover over 200 years of African-American heritage and culture!
The National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center
Focuses on African-American life between 1945 and 1965. A national treasure established to preserve African-American history and culture. This is the nation's premier facility dedicated to the interpretation and preservation of the African-American experience in the United States. Located on the campus of Central State
University.
Wilberforce
(937) 376-4944
http://www.ohiohistory.org/places/afroam/index.html
Central State University
Central State began in 1887 as a department of Wilberforce University dedicated to providing teaching and technical training for Blacks. It was established as an independent state college in 1951 and granted university status in 1965. Central State University is Ohio's only public historically Black university.
Wilberforce
(800) 388-2781
www.centralstate.edu
Lt. Colonel Charles Young House
Runaway slaves hid here in the cellar and barn. It was later the home of Lt. Col. Young, a graduate of West Point and veteran of the Spanish-American War. He was America's leading Black soldier prior to WW I. Open to the public by appointment
U.S. Route 42
Wilberforce
(937) 376-4944
Wilberforce University
Wilberforce was founded in 1856 by the African Methodist Episcopal Church. It is the first autonomous Black-owned and Black-led college in America and was an important station on the Underground Railroad.
Wilberforce
(937) 376-2911
www.wilberforce.edu
United States Air Force Museum
The world's largest and oldest military aviation museum and Ohio's largest free attraction, it features a permanent exhibit celebrating the Tuskegee Airmen of W W II - America's first Black fighter pilots.
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
Fairborn
(937) 255-3286
http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/
Underground Railroad
There were stations of the Underground Railroad scattered widely throughout Greene County. For the serious scholar, there are extensive archives at the Greene County Public Library, Wilberforce
University and Central State University. A good place to begin your discovery of this aspect of our history is at the National Afro-American Museum on the campus of Central State University in Wilberforce.
(937) 376-4944
Greene County Lewis A. Jackson Regional Airport
This airport is named in honor of a man who impacted countless people through his passion for aviation and education. During World War II, Jackson became director of training at the Army Air Corps 66th Flight Training Detachment at Tuskegee, Alabama. Under Jackson's program, the renowned Tuskegee Airmen trained to become the first black pilots in the Army Air Corps. Following the war, Jackson earned a Masters and a PhD in higher education. Dr. Jackson held many positions in education culminating in the presidency of Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio. A display at the airport tells the story of the Tuskegee Airmen and Dr. Jackson. Located west of Xenia on Valley Road.
Xenia
(937) 376-8107
http://www.i19airport.com/ |
