Historic Indiana home known as hidden gem of Underground Railroad

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

It’s of a historical home owned by Levi and Catharine Coffin, who helped runaway slaves find freedom in the 1800s.

Born and raised as Quakers in the slave state of North Carolina, the couple moved to Newport (now Fountain City) in the free state of Indiana after their marriage. The Coffins used their home to provide safety for slaves seeking freedom beginning in 1839.

Joanna Hahn, central region director of the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites, says Levi Coffin assisted up to 2,000 people, according to his autobiography.

“There were hundreds of homes that were involved in this, especially in northern states like Indiana, but a lot of those homes don’t exist anymore or are people’s private homes,” Hahn said. “So there aren’t a lot of places like the Levi and Catharine Coffin State Historic Site where you can actually tour a home that not only do we know is part of the Underground Railroad, but where we can tell the stories of the Coffins and how they were able to help freedom seekers.”

The tour doesn’t display original artifacts of the Coffin home, although a wagon and an indoor spring well that still works to this day depict the 1800s.

Self-guided tours allow families to gain knowledge on slavery in the United States.

Tours at the Coffin home are available twice a day Wednesday-Sunday.

Fountain City is north of Richmond in Wayne County. It’s about a 75-mile drive east of downtown Indianapolis.