CLEVELAND, Ohio — Before the Civil War, Northeast Ohio was a hotbed of abolitionism, dotted with safe houses and sites where fleeing slaves could find refuge. Today, very few of those places exist, demolished and redeveloped over the decades. One that still stands: The Cozad-Bates House, a brick beauty on Mayfield Road in Cleveland’s University Circle neighborhood, built in 1853 and almost knocked down earlier this century.
It opened to the public for tours in 2021, with four restored rooms that tell the stories of Northeast Ohio’s daring Underground Railroad pioneers and their lasting impact on society. The house is open every Saturday from noon to 4 p.m.
, with special hours from noon to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, June 19 for Juneteenth, the federal holiday that celebrates the end of slavery in the United States.
Admission is free. The house was built in 1853 by Andrew Cozad, a wealthy landowner and farmer in what was then known as East Cleveland Township, the rural region east of the city that makes up modern-day University Circle, East Cleveland and Cleveland Heights. He built the house for his son, Justus, who worked as a railroad engineer and land surveyor.
Justus Cozad was away from the house for long periods of time in the mid-19th century, and it’s unclear if the home was ever actually used to hide escaping slaves. The Cozad family, however, had a long history of outspoken abolitionism and was absolutely involved in the Underground Railroad, said Jeanne Van Atta, vi.
