By Ryan Applegate
People’s Defender
For Tom Kirker, history isn’t something you find in books. It’s in the stone walls, the old beams of the barn, the soil turned by generations before him. It’s in stories passed down at the dinner table. And now, it’s finally official. On May 1, 2025, the National Park Service added the Gov. Thomas Kirker Family Homestead in Adams County to its prestigious National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom, recognizing the farm’s significant role in harboring freedom seekers during the 19th century.
The designation is part of the Appalachian Freedom Heritage Tourism Initiative, a tri-state preservation effort focused on documenting Underground Railroad sites across Ohio, Kentucky, and West Virginia. Eight sites were added in this round of recognition, but for the Kirker family, this moment represents more than a historical footnote—it’s a validation of a legacy carried quietly for generations.
“It’s a family legacy,” said Tom Kirker, sixth-generation owner of the homestead and descendant of Thomas Kirker, Ohio’s second governor. “I’ve always enjoyed the history, even though I grew up here and just lived here. When you’re young, you don’t think much about it. You just go on with your daily life and play your baseball and whatever else. But looking back now, it’s something I take great pride in.”
That pride runs deep. Born in Ireland and arriving in the American colonies in the late 1700s, Thomas Kirker made his way to what was then the wilderness of the Northwest Territory. Befriending pioneer and surveyor Nathaniel Massie, Kirker worked alongside him in surveying the Ohio frontier. Eventually, Massie deeded roughly 5,000 acres to Kirker, land that would become West Union and the surrounding region.
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