The Levi and Catharine Coffin State Historic Site in Fountain City will present special September events to celebrate Underground Railroad Month.
The month that was first recognized in Indiana during 2021 celebrates the Coffins and other Indiana abolitionists who helped thousands of freedom-seekers escape from slavery, according to a news release.
The Historic Newport Walking Tour will take place from 3:30 to 5 p.m. Sept. 7, beginning at the historic site, 201 U.S. 27, Fountain City. The tour visits locations in Fountain City, which once was known as Newport, to learn how the community became a safe place for freedom-seekers. Cost is $5 per person or $10 for a family of four or more.
Storyteller Portia Sholar Jackson will share perspectives on the Emancipation Proclamation from 10 to 11 a.m. and from 1 to 2 p.m. Sept. 14. Cost is $8.
From 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Sept. 26, a free discussion will delve into the politics surrounding the lynching death of 19-year-old George Tompkins, who was found dead in Indianapolis’ Riverside Park during 1922.
The monthlong celebration is highlighted by the Levi Coffin Days festival Sept. 21 and 22 hosted by the Fountain City Lions Club. The historic site offers special tours from noon to 5 p.m. Sept. 21 and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 22.
The historic site will also expand its daily tours to 10:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays during September. Tickets cost $11 for adults, $9 for seniors and $6 for children. To reserve tour times and purchase tickets, visit IndianaMuseum.org/historic-sites/levi-catharine-coffin-house.
Coffins to enter hall of fame
Catharine White Coffin and Levi Coffin will be inducted Oct. 19 into the National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum in Peterboro, New York.
The Coffins worked in Wayne County to assist freedom seekers for more than 40 years, operating a successful Underground Railroad depot. Their Fountain City house is now a state historic site.
Leonard Andrew Grimes and James McCune Smith will also be inducted, according to a news release. The hall of fame has 28 members inducted since 2005.
Catharine Coffin was raised an anti-slavery Quaker in North Carolina and focused her efforts on ending slavery and gaining rights for women. She provided medical attention to freedom-seekers as well as security from slave catchers. She also was active in sewing circles and anti-slavery fairs that raised money for the abolitionist cause.
Catharine and Levi Coffin met with noted abolitionists from around the country.
Levi Coffin, who also was raised an anti-slavery Quaker in North Carolina, believed action was more important than words in eradicating slavery, and he became known as the “president of the Underground Railroad.” Coffin attended anti-slavery conventions and permitted the printing of an anti-slavery newspaper in his dry goods store.
Joanna Hahn of the Catharine and Levi Coffin State Historic Site nominated the Coffins for induction. She will present “The Mysterious Road: Levi Coffin’s Underground Railroad Journey” on Oct. 19 prior to the evening inductions.
A version of this article appeared in the September 4 2024 print edition of the Western Wayne News.