Campus News

Oberlin-Wellington Rescue

September 18, 2019

Communications Staff

Historic photo of Oberlin Rescuers.
Historic photo of the Oberlin Rescuers at Cuyahoga County Jail.
Photo credit: Courtesy of the Oberlin College Archives

"In Oberlin History" is a series dedicated to notable events in Oberlin College history. It is created in partnership with the Office of Communications and Oberlin College Archives.

In the fall of 1858, a federal marshal arrested a fugitive slave named John Price. Price had been living and working in Oberlin for about two years when slave catchers conspired to capture him and return him to slavery in Kentucky. On September 13, 1858, citizens and students of Oberlin and citizens of Wellington successfully rescued Price in Wellington, Ohio. The 1859 trial of the Oberlin Rescuers and their release from the Cuyahoga County Jail represented one of Oberlin's most remarkable achievements in the battle against the institution of slavery.

More information about the Oberlin-Wellington Rescue is available through the Oberlin College Archives.

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