Black History Month: African American barbers a cut above the rest

Editor's note: Throughout February, commemorating Black History Month, the Register will profile significant people and noteworthy events related to Sandusky. The following is a piece published by the Sandusky Library History Blog. There have been barbers for as long as history has been recorded. Razors have been found dating back to the Bronze Age. In Sandusky, there were many barbershops located within local hotels for the convenience of out-of-town travelers. For instance, there was the J. and F. Bock Barber Shop, at 810 Water St. around 1886. Joseph and Frank (J. and F.) Bock's father, Matthias G. Bock, was listed as a barber in the 1855 Sandusky City Directory. Barbering was one of the few professions open to Black men in the 19th century, so several shops in Sandusky were operated by African Americans. In the Firelands Pioneer of July 1888, Rush Sloane states that Grant Ritchie, an African American, opened the first barbershop in Sandusky. Ritchie "was the earliest and most active agent of the line (Underground Railroad) and always successful in his operations." Another African American agent of the Underground Railroad was John Lott, who barbered in Sandusky in the 1840s and 1850s. It is thought that many discussions and plans for the freeing of fugitive slaves via the underground railway took place in barbershops, where African American men could speak freely. John Lott was among the several African American citizens of Sandusky who presented Sloane with a silver-headed cane in appreciation of his efforts on behalf of seven fugitive slaves whom he represented in 1852. You can still see this cane at the Follett House Museum. Barbershops continue to thrive all over America, particularly in the African American community.