In keep­ing with Black History Month, it seemed entirely appro­pri­ate to come across a post on Hubbard House, a ter­mi­nus on the Underground Railroad in Ashtabula Ohio, over at MidwestGuest’s travel blog.

Dred Scott. George Washington Carver. Scott Joplin. Buck O’Neil. You might be famil­iar with the names, but have you been to the cour­t­house where Scott, a slave, sat after he suc­cess­fully sued to earn his free­dom? Have you walked the grounds where Carver devel­oped his love for agri­cul­ture? Can you hear the music play as you imag­ine Joplin sit­ting at his piano and com­pos­ing “The Entertainer” or pic­ture what O’Neil’s accom­mo­da­tions might have been like for road games? If you answered “no” to these ques­tions, it’s time for a visit to Missouri, a state rich in African-American cul­ture and a great loca­tion to learn about the peo­ple who strug­gled to gain free­dom, fought to make con­tri­bu­tions to soci­ety, put their own stamp on a gen­er­a­tion and sim­ply wanted to get in the game. The Old Courthouse in St. Louis, www.nps.gov/jeff/planyourvisit/och.htm plays an impor­tant role in the his­tory of African-Americans in Missouri and in American history.

Dred Scott. George Washington Carver. Scott Joplin. Buck O’Neil. You might be famil­iar with the names, but have you been to the cour­t­house where Scott, a slave, sat after he suc­cess­fully sued to earn his free­dom? Have you walked the grounds where Carver devel­oped his love for agri­cul­ture? Can you hear the music play as you imag­ine Joplin sit­ting at his piano and com­pos­ing “The Entertainer” or pic­ture what O’Neil’s accom­mo­da­tions might have been like for road games? If you answered “no” to these ques­tions, it’s time for a visit to Missouri, a state rich in African-American cul­ture and a great loca­tion to learn about the peo­ple who strug­gled to gain free­dom, fought to make con­tri­bu­tions to soci­ety, put their own stamp on a gen­er­a­tion and sim­ply wanted to get in the game. The Old Courthouse in St. Louis, www.nps.gov/jeff/planyourvisit/och.htm plays an impor­tant role in the his­tory of African-Americans in Missouri and in American history.

African Americans have helped shape Ohio’s his­tory and cul­ture through sig­nif­i­cant con­tri­bu­tions to the arts, music, pol­i­tics, human­i­tar­ian efforts and more. During Black History Month, Ohio trav­el­ers are invited to cel­e­brate the rag­time sounds of Scott Joplin and the sig­nif­i­cant con­tri­bu­tions he made in music his­tory; the strength of Angela Davis and her writ­ings that stood up to an unfair world; the iconic pho­tog­ra­phy of Gordon Parks and his relent­less moti­va­tion to cap­ture raw social and polit­i­cal issues all over the world; and the phil­an­thropic con­tri­bu­tions of Eliza Bryant, whose human­i­tar­ian work touched thousands.