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Ohio committee holds first hearing on bill to designate John Rankin Day, commission statue
Summary
Sponsors told the House Government Oversight Committee that House Bill 53 would designate Feb. 4 as John Rankin Day and commission a statue of the 19th‑century abolitionist for Statehouse grounds; sponsors said statue costs would be raised privately and site work would be handled through the Capitol Square process.
Representative Pizzoli, sponsor of House Bill 53, told the House Government Oversight Committee that the bill would designate Feb. 4 as John Rankin Day and commission a statue of the Reverend John Rankin on Statehouse grounds.
Pizzoli said Rankin, a Presbyterian minister who settled in Ripley, Ohio, in 1822, “was one of Ohio’s first and most active conductors on the Underground Railroad” and that “it is estimated that over 2,000 fugitive slaves found refuge in the Rankin household.” The sponsor cited Rankin’s Letters on Slavery, first published in 1826, as influential in the abolitionist movement.
The bill’s joint sponsor, Representative Fisher, told the committee the legislation would both designate the day and commission a statue to be placed on Statehouse grounds. Fisher said the statue is intended to be new public recognition of Rankin’s work, noting his house in Ripley is now a national historic landmark.
Committee members asked about funding and placement. The sponsors said they expected private fundraising to pay for the commissioned statue, while site preparation on Statehouse grounds would be coordinated through the Capitol Square advisory board and paid for by the State House administration. “We want to make sure that whatever ends up happening fits in with the beautiful State House grounds,” Fisher said.
Members also discussed outreach and historical partnerships. Pizzoli and Fisher said they were open to working with the Ohio History Connection, the John P. Parker House in Ripley, local historical societies and descendants or family historians to incorporate broader stories tied to Rankin’s work.
The committee took no formal vote; the sponsors presented the measure for its first hearing. Chairman Hall closed the presentation after members’ questions and thanked the sponsors for their testimony.
The bill will return to committee for further consideration; no committee direction or formal referral was recorded during the hearing.
