Indiana home earning reputation as hidden gem of Underground Railroad

FOUNTAIN CITY, Ind. (WISH) — The Indiana State Museum is encouraging families to circuit a hidden gem: The “Grand Central Station” of the Underground Railroad.

It’s of a humanities location owned by Levi and Catharine Coffin, who helped runaway slaves find state successful the 1800s.

Born and raised arsenic Quakers successful the enslaved authorities of North Carolina, the mates moved to Newport (now Fountain City) successful the escaped authorities of Indiana pursuing their marriage. The Coffins utilized their location to supply information for slaves seeking state opening successful 1839.

The Indiana State Museum says Levi Coffin assisted up to 2,000 individuals, according to his autobiography.

“There were hundreds of homes that were progressive successful this, particularly successful bluish states similar Indiana, but a batch of homes don’t beryllium anymore oregon are people’s backstage homes. So determination aren’t a batch of places similar the Levi and Catharine Coffin State Historic Site wherever you tin really circuit a location that not lone bash we cognize is portion of the Underground Railroad, but wherever we tin archer the stories of the Coffins and however they were capable to assistance state seekers.”

Though the circuit doesn’t show archetypal artifacts of the Coffin home, determination are immoderate depicting the 1800s, including a wagon and an indoor outpouring good that inactive works to this day.

Families tin besides bash a self-guided circuit to further their cognition connected slavery successful the United States. The self-guided tours are temporarily unavailable owed to COVID-19.

Tours astatine the Coffin home are disposable doubly a time Wednesday-Sunday.