{"id":3597,"slug":"zion-baptist-church-cincinnati-ohio","story":[{"heading":null,"paragraphs":["Zion is the 'Big' — the '1842' that's the Shelton founded, the 'first brick Black-owned' that's the '67 built. The 'Escape of 28' is the planned — the 'fake funeral' that's the coaches disguised, the 'Wesleyan Cemetery' that's the decoy's route. The 'Hatfield' is the deacon — the 'Vigilance leader' that's the Zion's officer, the 'barber and steward' that's the free Black's trade.","The 'Fairfield's gamble' is the executed — the '28 fugitives' that's the largest group, the 'Colerain Pike' that's the northward route. The 'managed by colored' is the true — the 'Birney's letter' that's the whites uninformed, the 'Zion's women' that's the shelter given. Zion is the organized — the 'congregation as station' that's the church's role, the 'Big Zion' that's the nickname earned.","The file keeps Zion: the funeral decoy, the 28 moved, Hatfield's vigilance, and the brick built.","Zion Baptist is the archive's Ohio file — the church that staged a funeral for freedom."]},{"heading":"Why this file matters","paragraphs":["Zion Baptist is the archive's Ohio file — the funeral procession that freed 28.","A church keeps its procession — the file's suggestion being that Zion's hold is the staged: the 'fake mourners' that's the coaches filled, the 'deacon's vigilance' that's the free Blacks organized, and the 'Big Zion' that's the reputation built."]}],"name":"Zion Baptist Church","aliases":[],"type":"HISTORIC_SITE","type_label":"Historic Site","cats":["DARK_HISTORY","UNDERGROUND_RAILROAD_HISTORY","AFRICAN_AMERICAN_HISTORY","HISTORIC_SITE","RELIGIOUS","UNDERGROUND_RAILROAD"],"groups":["dark-history","historic-sites"],"desc":"The Black church—where the congregation helped the fugitives.","full_desc":"A historic site in Cincinnati, Ohio, an NPS Network to Freedom, Zion Baptist Church is filed here for what the record attaches to it. The Black church—where the congregation helped the fugitives. The archive files it under Underground Railroad history, the Underground Railroad and African American history. The dossier holds 2 documented facts — a documented spine with no haunting reports attached. The site is open to visitors.","address":null,"city":"Cincinnati","county":null,"state":"Ohio","postal":null,"region":"Midwest","lat":39.140183,"lon":-84.505829,"coord_kind":"CITY","status":"ACTIVE","access":"PUBLIC","access_notes":null,"ownership":null,"website":null,"phone":null,"year_built":null,"year_opened":null,"year_closed":null,"year_demolished":null,"designation":"NPS Network to Freedom","current_use":"Historic site","research_notes":"UGRR enrichment wave 1; VERIFY task auto-queued.","stage":"SOURCE_RESEARCH","quality":{"level":"MEDIUM","score":67.9,"dims":{"location_confidence":0.75,"identity_confidence":0.85,"historical_confidence":0.8,"source_quality":1,"paranormal_claim_provenance":null,"coordinate_confidence":0,"current_access_confidence":0.7,"freshness":0.65}},"claims":[],"history":[{"description":"NPS includes this site in the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. Zion Baptist Church's past is on record — the entry belongs to the verified layer the museum itself interprets. This belongs to the verified spine of the entry, the layer everything else is measured against. Sources including 'Public NPS Network to Freedom listings, row 2, ID 01GA01' carry the record. The entry's timeline holds it; the lore holds the rest.","evidence":"HISTORICALLY_VERIFIED","date_start":null,"date_end":null,"confidence":null,"source":{"name":"Public NPS Network to Freedom listings, row 2, ID 01GA01","url":"https://www.nps.gov/common/uploads/sortable_dataset/undergroundrailroad/F0E29766-00A1-12E5-C3D062151C3F7E26/nri-NTFListings6426NOPIItable.csv?t=1784017173223","publisher":"National Park Service","type":"GOVERNMENT","authority":1}},{"description":"Zion Baptist Church is documented on the National Park Service Network to Freedom for its role in the Underground Railroad. A documented site gives the file real substance; this entry is part of that record. The record holds it as fact — documented, not retold. 'NPS Network to Freedom listing' documents the entry. Documented ground is what separates this file from pure legend — this is part of it.","evidence":"HISTORICALLY_VERIFIED","date_start":null,"date_end":null,"confidence":null,"source":{"name":"NPS Network to Freedom listing","url":"https://www.nps.gov/subjects/ugrr/index.htm","publisher":"National Park Service","type":"GOVERNMENT","authority":1}}],"legends":[],"entities":[],"events":[],"investigations":[],"encounters":[],"media":[],"persons":[],"visitor":{"tour_availability":"Verify before visiting","notes":"Historic site; verify hours and access with the managing agency before visiting; check nps.gov for current hours and alerts.","last_verified_at":"2026-09-18 11:32:55","source":{"name":"HauntHunt generic access guidance","url":"https://haunthunt.com/about#access-guidance","publisher":"HauntHunt editorial","type":"DIRECTORY","authority":2}},"sources":[{"name":"Public NPS Network to Freedom listings, row 2, ID 01GA01","url":"https://www.nps.gov/common/uploads/sortable_dataset/undergroundrailroad/F0E29766-00A1-12E5-C3D062151C3F7E26/nri-NTFListings6426NOPIItable.csv?t=1784017173223","publisher":"National Park Service","type":"GOVERNMENT","authority":1},{"name":"NPS Network to Freedom listing","url":"https://www.nps.gov/subjects/ugrr/index.htm","publisher":"National Park Service","type":"GOVERNMENT","authority":1},{"name":"Underground Railroad","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underground_Railroad","publisher":"Wikipedia","type":"ENCYCLOPEDIA","authority":4}],"conflicts":[],"wiki":null,"counts":{"claims":0,"history":2,"legends":0,"entities":0,"sources":3}}