City: Cincinnati, OH

Category: Accommodations

Telephone: (937) 392-1640

Address: 234 North Front Street

Description: This early 1800s Italianate home has been expertly transformed into a quaint bed-and-breakfast by proprietor Betsy Billingsley. A three-room private suite with bath has been added to the existing two guest rooms (shared bath). Its history is one of post-Revolutionary pedigree: The Signal House was used to signal the Rev. John Rankin by lantern that the waterfront was safe to lead slaves to freedom during the heady days of the Underground Railroad. (Why not call it the Rankin House? Because that honor goes to the nearby museum honoring Rankin and the 2,000 slaves he saved—all immortalized by local Harriet Beecher Stowe in Uncle Tom’s Cabin.)Yes, all of Ripley drips with Civil War history, but this bed-and-breakfast is hardly just for history buffs. Four-poster beds, romantic views of the Ohio River, and one of the best breakfasts you’ll ever enjoy await you in Ripley (believe it or not). Ripley itself is better known as the tobacco capital of Ohio, with its Ohio Tobacco Museum, annual tobacco auctions, and famous Tobacco Festival. That said, nonsmokers are welcome to sample a bit of rural Americana in a town where little has changed over the decades. We should note that, tobacco capital or no, there is no smoking allowed in the guest rooms.