WOOSTER, Ohio — A self-guided walking tour in Wooster is shedding light on the city’s African American history, showing how the past is woven into the fabric.
The Civil Rights walking tour in Wooster, created last year, offers visitors a chance to stand where history was made. The mile-long route through historic downtown highlights significant sites and events, including speeches by abolitionist Frederick Douglass.
“If I tell you Frederick Douglass was at this site, I’d like you to be at that site,” Jeff Musselman with the Wayne County Historical Society said.
Douglass spoke in Wooster twice in 1872, and tour participants can visit the very locations where he stood.
He was in Wooster during a campaign tour for the re-election of Ulysses S. Grant.
Some of the buildings, often overlooked, hold powerful stories. The United Methodist Church still stands and is part of the tour. The church was the meeting place for the Wayne County Anti-Slavery Society. The society's purpose was to help abolish slavery and played a role in the Underground Railroad in Wooster.
Kerri Manley, who helped coordinate the free audio tour, said the experience brings history to life and gives visitors a new perspective on the people who shaped the community.
“It just gives me goosebumps,” Manley said. “I couldn’t imagine giving up everything I’ve known to be uprooted and start all over again.”
One tour stop highlights a former bus station that played a critical role in the lives of African Americans in Wooster during the 1930s. While today the area is mostly parking lots, it once served as a vital hub where many started their new lives up north.
The tour also stops at First Baptist Church, identified by its white steeple. It was a place of worship for African Americans seeking jobs after slavery was abolished. But at the time, segregation persisted, forcing Black attendees to create a second service. That congregation, now known as Second Baptist Church, remains active today.
Charles Follis' parents attended that church. Follis was from Wooster and would become the first African-American professional football player. He also played a big role in creating the first Wooster High School football team (now known as Follis Field).
“Which to me is unheard of. That you’d have a black captain on an all white team,” Musselman said.
The walking tour is designed to reflect on how far Wooster has come—and how far it still has to go.
“It’s the majority groups that write the history,” Musselman said. “It doesn’t mean they made the history or even made the most significant contributions to history.”
The tour takes about an hour and a half to complete, offering a deep dive into a part of Wooster’s past that is often overlooked. Organizers hope it will serve as both a history lesson and a reminder of the African Americans who helped build the city.
If you'd like to take the tour yourself or learn more about click HERE.
