THINGS TO DO

Here you’ll discover the history behind this historic site. Following an orientation video, you’ll explore the three floors of the interpretive center, including the exhibit Souls Seeking Safety: Bringing Indiana’s Underground Railroad Experience to Life. You’ll also find out more about the Coffins’ role in helping thousands find their way to freedom.

Souls Seeking Safety: Bringing Indiana’s Underground Railroad Experience to Life, was made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the Human Endeavor.

Enjoy a guided tour of the actual home where the Coffins housed so many freedom-seekers. Inside you’ll find unique features like a basement kitchen, a spring-fed well in the basement, and large attic and storage garrets on the side of the rear room that served as convenient hiding places.

Lay your head in a mock false-bottom wagon to hear sounds of what it would have been like hiding in one of these escape tools. Try to lift a cotton bale, and learn about how slaves worked about one week to pick enough cotton for one bale.

Escaping slaves were well hidden for their travels in wagons like this one, equipped with false-bottoms and used to transport freedom-seekers to the next safe house.

Eileen Baker-Wall grew up in Fountain City and has been a longtime volunteer at the site. The shoe she is holding belonged to her great-great grandfather William Bush. Stories of her grandfather were passed down in her family, ones that tell of William’s escape from slavery in North Carolina, sometime in the 1840s. According to family stories, part of William’s escape included hiding inside a wooden crate that was supposedly shipped to Levi Coffin in Newport (now Fountain City).

We can all play a role in protecting and supporting Indiana’s pollinators. Bee Welcoming to Indiana’s Pollinators is a conservation and preservation effort made possible by our partners at Corteva Agriscience. The program focuses on cultivating the landscapes and gardens at each of our 12 locations across the state to support native plants and maintain diverse habitats to attract and support pollinators. When you visit, you’ll learn about the importance of protecting bees, birds and butterflies and how all Hoosiers can play a role in habitat conservation and restoration, which creates a welcoming space for these important pollinators. We can help these winged wonders by simply removing invasive species, planting pollinator-friendly plants and placing bee boxes. We hope you visit and see the important role you play and enjoy the vibrant gardens courtesy of Indiana’s pollinators.