Ohio

William Hubbard (1787-1863) moved to Ashtabula, Ohio, from Holland Patent, New York, in 1834 to join relatives who owned and operated a successful lumber yard and warehouse in the town. Before moving to Ashtabula, Hubbard served in the War of 1812 as a captain in a New York regiment, and after the war served as a colonel of miltia. Upon his arrival, Hubbard constructed this house and became involved in the local antislavery society and town politics.

A strategic location for an Underground Railroad station, the house is in close proximity to Lake Erie and was often the last stop for fugitive slaves before they crossed the lake to Canada.

Noted Underground Railroad scholar, Wilbur H. Siebert, wrote in The Mysteries of Ohio's Underground Railroads, "Night after night conductors landed passengers in his [Hubbard's] cellar or hayloft..."