Findlay’s Freedom 250 Poster Highlights Hancock County History

Findlay, Ohio – The City of Findlay is proud to unveil its submission to the Freedom 250 City Art Poster Project, a collaborative initiative with the National Endowment of the Arts and The United States Conference of Mayors (USCM). The project encourages communities across the country to celebrate their local histories and showcase the stories, people and places that contribute to our shared national identity. 

Created by local artist Ambz of Hysteria Co. Design Studio, Findlay’s poster highlights Hancock County’s historical connections to the Bullskin Trace and the Underground Railroad.

The historic Bullskin Trace began as an ancient buffalo and Indigenous trail between the Ohio River and Detroit. The trail evolved into one of Ohio’s earliest transportation corridors and later became part of the route network used by settlers, military supply trains, and freedom seekers traveling north through the Underground Railroad. As settlement expanded into northwest Ohio during the early nineteenth century, routes such as the Bullskin Trace helped connect emerging communities, including those that would later form Hancock County, to larger migration, trade, and communication networks across the state. Part of the trace’s legacy survives today in State Route 68, which remains an important north-south corridor linking communities throughout Ohio.

For Hancock County residents, the story of the Bullskin Trace helps illustrate how early transportation routes shaped Ohio’s growth long before railroads and modern highways existed. These corridors enabled migration into the Black Swamp region, influenced patterns of settlement, and connected northwest Ohio to the broader developments that transformed the state.

The poster will be on display during ArtWalk this evening, November 6, from 5-9pm at Hysteria Co. Design Studio, located in Studio #12 of the Jones Building (400 ½ S. Main St.). 

The City of Findlay’s submission will also be featured in Washington, D.C. during USCM’s Annual Meeting in January 2027.