Notable people · Business · Founder · Abolitionist
John Campbell
An ironmaster who built several iron furnaces in the Hanging Rock region and helped found the city of Ironton, platted in 1849. He was an abolitionist whose barn is remembered as part of the local Underground Railroad.
At a glance
- Born
- 1808-01-14
- Died
- 1891
- Known as
- Business, Founder, Abolitionist
- Organizations
- Ohio Iron and Coal Co.
Life story
John Campbell was born on January 14, 1808, in Brown County, Ohio. He became an industrialist in the iron-making country along the Ohio River and built several furnaces there, including Mt. Vernon, Greenup, Olive, Madison and Monroe.
He saw that pig iron needed a better way to reach river barges. With 23 other investors he helped organize the Ohio Iron and Coal Company to build a railroad, first called the Iron Railroad and later the Detroit, Toledo and Ironton. Land was bought from W.D. Kelly and Ironton was platted in 1849, with the first lots sold in June.
Campbell was also a committed abolitionist who ran a barn near today's First Presbyterian Church as part of the Lawrence County Underground Railroad. He died in 1891, and his funeral was so large that more than 60 carriages followed. He is buried in Woodland Cemetery.
Timeline
What John is known for
- Founded Ironton (platted 1849)
- Helped organize the Ohio Iron and Coal Company and the railroad that became the DT&I
- Iron furnaces at Mt. Vernon, Greenup, Olive, Madison and Monroe
- Ohio Iron and Coal Company (organizer)
Honors and things named for them
- Founder of Ironton
Places in Ohio to see
- Woodland Cemetery (grave) (grave)
Ironton, Lawrence County ZIP 45638 (approximate) · Ironton · Lawrence County · official page
Ohio places
Where John Campbell was born, lived, worked and is remembered, with the ZIP code, town and county pages for each.
- Born: Brown County (near Ripley or Georgetown; sources differ), Brown County Brown County
- Worked: Ironton, Lawrence County ZIP 45638 · Ironton · Lawrence County
- Buried: Ironton (Woodland Cemetery), Lawrence County ZIP 45638 · Ironton · Lawrence County
Myths and corrections
- The Underground Railroad role is local tradition; the source gives no named people he helped.
- Disputed: Sources differ on his birthplace. The Ironton Tribune gives Georgetown, Brown County, while a Lawrence County history site says near Ripley. Both places are in Brown County.
Further reading
Sources
Confidence. Medium: the main facts were confirmed, but some details (often an address or ZIP code) were not.
- Wikipedia: John Campbell birth 1808-01-14; furnaces; Ohio Iron and Coal Co.; town platted 1849; Underground Railroad barn; funeral; Woodland Cemetery