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Levi Coffin House
State Historic Site
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Escaping
slaves could be hidden in this small upstairs room and the beds
moved in front of the door to hide its existence. |
A part of the legendary
Underground Railroad for fleeing
slaves of pre-Civil War days, this registered National Historic Landmark is a Federal
style brick home built in 1839.
Levi and Catharine Coffin were legendary
in helping many former slaves escape to freedom in the North. Levi is often referred
to as the President of the Underground Railroad.
Life for a runaway slave was full of hazards. The journey to freedom
meant traveling only a few miles at night, using the North Star as a map and trying to
avoid search parties. Often, escaped slaves would hide in homes or on the property
of antislavery supporters. These stops to freedom were called Underground Railroad
stations because they resembled stops a train would make between destinations.
"Underground" refers the the secret nature of the system.
To the thousand of escaped slaves, an eight-room Federal style brick home
in Newport (Fountain City), Indiana, became a safe haven on their journey to Canada.
 This was the home of Levi and Catharine Coffin, North Carolina Quakers who opposed
slavery. During the 20 years they lived in Newport, the Coffins helped more than
2,000 slaves reach safety.
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Escaping
slaves were well hidden for their travels in this wagon when
grain bags were piled around the hiding area.
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In their flight, slaves used three main routes to cross into
freedom: Madison and Jeffersonville, Indiana and Cincinnati, Ohio. From these
points, the fugitives were taken to Newport. Once in the house, the presence of the
runaway slaves could be concealed for up to several weeks, until they gained enough
strength to continue their journey.
So successful was the
Coffin sanctuary that, while in Newport, not a single slave failed to reach freedom.
 One of the many slaves who hid in the Coffin home was "Eliza", whose story is
told in Uncle Tom's Cabin. In 1847, the Coffins moved to Cincinnati so that
Levi could operate a wholesale warehouse which supplied goods to free labor stores.
The Coffins continued to assist the cause, helping another 1,300 slaves escape.
The Coffin house was purchased in 1967 by the State of Indiana. The
house was restored and then opened to the public in 1970. The site is a registered
National Historic Landmark and is operated by the
Levi Coffin House Association.
Levi
Coffin |
Catharine
Coffin |
Recommended
Links
 View More Photos (1 | 2
)
Lessons
Plans for Grades K-12
Your Levi Coffin House Tour meets
Indiana
Academic Standards for many classes.
View recently discovered manumission papers
that were witnessed by Levi Coffin - these are legal documents showing
the purchase of slaves by Quakers who would then care for them until they could be
transported into a free state. Be sure to review the comments
that describe the significance of these documents.
 The
Levi Coffin House has been included as one of
the top 25
history sites in the nation by The History Channel!
Indiana Historical Society's Levi Coffin Site
Indiana Historical Bureau -
Underground Railroad Information
Indiana State Museum State Historic
Site - Levi Coffin House
Taking the
Train to Freedom
by the
National Park Service
Reminiscences of
Levi Coffin - Published in 1876 - full-text provided by
MOA (Making of America - Digital Library),
University of Michigan
Excerpt from
Reminiscences of Levi Coffin - Levi's own words tell you about the
experience of running a station on the Underground Railroad.
National Underground Railroad Freedom Center
Levi Coffin House -
Aboard the Underground Railroad
- a national register travel itinerary.
Quakers
(Society of Friends) in Richmond and Wayne County - learn about the
beliefs of the Quakers, local Quaker history, and see local Quaker
points of interest.
Southeast
Indiana Trails to Freedom - explore the history of the
Underground Railroad in Southeast Indiana.
Secret Routes to Freedom - the underground railroad experience.
The
Underground Railroad - by National Geographic, an excellent
site that gives a visitor the feeling of traveling along the Underground
Railroad.
The
Underground Railroad - by PBS, part of their Africans in America
series.
4th
Graders Leave Their Mark at Levi Coffin House - Young people connect
with history - Palladium-Item Newspaper
article.
Follow the North Star
- learn about this unique "first-person" program at Conner
Prairie in Fishers, Indiana to teach students ages 12 and up about
the Underground Railroad.
Friends of Freedom - Ohio
Underground Railroad Association does research to identify, document and
preserve Underground Railroad sites throughout Ohio. Be sure to check
their extensive
booklist.
Tracks
to Freedom - follow along with reporter Chris Lackner as he travels
by foot from Mays Lick, Kentucky, to North Buxton, Ontario, in search of
the history of the Underground Railroad and its connections to Canada.
Map of
various Underground Railroad routes.
Interactive
Map of Underground Railroad Sites.
Underground
Railroad Indiana!
The
Underground Railroad in Indiana (.pdf)
Underground Railroad in Ohio
Kentucky's Underground
Railroad - includes a brief history of slavery in Kentucky.
History and
Geography of the Underground Railroad
3,000
names of Underground Railroad "operators" - by Wilbert
Siebert
"Conducting
Underground Railroad Research"
Levi Coffin Biography by the African-American Registry
Underground Railroad Bike Route
Indiana DNR, Div. of Historic Preservation and Archaeology,
Levi
Coffin Info.
The
Road to Freedom, DVD set, available for purchase from The History
Channel. The Levi Coffin House is featured in Secret
Passages, Episode 11.
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