This Place Matters
Explore an Indiana safe house on the Underground Railroad.
This simple house in Indiana was a refuge for thousands on the Underground Railroad.
IN THE 1800S, escaped slaves running for their lives found respite in the Fountain City, Indiana, safe house of Quakers Levi and Catharine Coffin. Known as the Underground Railroad’s Grand Central Station, the Coffin home was a pivotal stop for more than 1,000 freedom seekers on their journey to Canada.
Learn about this couple’s brave ingenuity and hear their harrowing tales while touring their brick home as well as the
Levi and Catharine Coffin Interpretive Center next door.
Run by the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites, the visitor center features an excellent video and three floors of interactive exhibits that tell of the struggles those on the Underground Railroad faced. At the Coffin home, knowledgeable tour guides unveil secret chambers, a hidden spring-fed basement well (top right) and buckboard wagons with false bottoms (bottom right) as they tell the story of how Levi Coffin avoided detection and earned the nickname President of the Underground Railroad. For hours and information, visit indianamuseum.org/levicoffin.