The Rankin House.
Our journey in Georgetown took us past many fields in various stages of growth and color which we were unfamiliar with. Some had blossoms and some looked more than ready to harvest. Come to find out these were tobacco fields.. We learned that tobacco is a good crop to grow for small farms and when it turns yellow it indicates time to start the harvest by hanging it to cure and then take to Kentucky for auction. The flower is that of the plant going to seed like an onion. These blossoms were left on for future seed
production.
We visited the Rankin House high above the Ohio River, in Ripley looking toward Kentucky. The Reverand Rankin used his home as as a safe haven for escaping slaves from Kentucky heading to Canada for freedom. When the river was frozen several slaves came across and were interviewed by Harriet Beecher, a friend of the Rankin family. It is said that some of those interviews were the impetess for the book, Uncle Tom's Cabin. This 2 story cabin with basement became part of the "underground railroad" prior to the Civil War. Many of the escaping slaves had bounties as high as $500.00 so the bounty hunters were pretty thick looking for their retirement dollars.
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