The Unassuming Indiana House Where a Quaker Couple Outwitted Every Single Slave Catcher in the 1800s

The Levi Coffin and Catharine Coffin House

Over 1,000 people found safety in this plain white house on Highway 27. Levi and Catharine Coffin turned their eight-room home into the busiest stop on the Underground Railroad. Three escape routes met at their door, making it earn the nickname “Grand Central Station.”

Here’s the full story, now preserved as a National Historic Site you can visit today.

A House in the Middle of Escape Routes

People escaping slavery reached the Coffin House after crossing into free territory through three main paths. They traveled through Madison or Jeffersonville in Indiana, or Cincinnati, Ohio before arriving in Newport.

Aside from its location, the locals also helped turn the Coffin House into a natural gathering spot. They were fellow Quakers who also opposed slavery.

These neighbors watched for slave catchers entering town. When they spotted bounty hunters searching for runaways, they quickly warned the Coffins, giving them time to hide people or move them elsewhere.

A Secret Room for Safety

The Coffin house had a secret room built into an upstairs bedroom wall where people could hide during searches. This narrow space ran the length of the room and could hold up to 14 people.

A small door in the maids’ quarters led to this hiding place. When people needed to use it, the Coffins pushed beds against the door to hide it.

Even when slave catchers got legal papers to search the house, they never found anyone hiding in the walls.

The Benefit of a Basement Kitchen

While most homes in the 1830s had kitchens on the main floor, the Coffins intentionally built their kitchen in the basement. This placement allowed them to cook meals at any hour without neighbors noticing.

They were able to feed people who often arrived hungry after traveling many miles. A spring-fed well built right into the basement provided water without needing to go outside.

The kitchen enabled the Coffins to help people day or night while avoiding suspicion.

Wagons with Secret Compartments

Levi Coffin moved people between safe houses using wagons with false bottoms. These wagons looked like they carried only grain or farm goods while hiding people underneath the fake floor. Up to seven people could fit inside a wagon.

The design created the illusion of a full load while providing space below for passengers. Small air holes in the wood allowed people to breathe while hidden.

Straw or grain bags piled around the hiding area completed the disguise, allowing daytime travel when needed.

Seventeen in One Night

One night in the 1840s, seventeen people escaping slavery arrived at the Coffin House at the same time. The home’s large rooms and attic provided enough space for everyone.

Levi Coffin wrote about this event in his 1876 book “Reminiscences.” The morning after their arrival, all 17 sat down for breakfast together. Coffin told them they could eat without fear because they were among friends.

This large group pushed the limits of the household but proved just how many people the Coffins could help at once. Along with its location, events like this earned the house its nickname “Grand Central Station”.

Eliza’s Icy Escape

Eliza Harris fled Kentucky with her child by jumping across ice chunks on the frozen Ohio River in winter. Tired and cold after this dangerous crossing, Harris found shelter with the Coffins.

After regaining her strength, she continued north toward Canada and freedom.

Harriet Beecher Stowe adapted Eliza’s experience into her novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” immortalizing Eliza and her treacherous escape.

Clothing for Freedom Seekers

Many of the people who sought shelter at the Coffin House were poorly clothed, having fled with only what they had on. Catharine Coffin organized a sewing group that met in their home to make clothes.

Neighbors who wouldn’t shelter escapees found a way to help by providing materials and their sewing skills.

The fresh and clean clothing that the group sewed helped prevent capture, as slave catchers often looked for people in torn or dirty clothes. Better clothing also protected travelers from harsh weather during their journey.

Levi Knew the Law

As a successful store owner and bank director, Levi Coffin was able to challenge authorities without facing immediate trouble. He also used his understanding of the law to protect his home from searches.

When slave hunters demanded to look through his house, he insisted on seeing proper search warrants and proof of ownership for the people they sought. Most arrived unprepared for these legal demands.

By the time hunters returned with the right papers, the freedom seekers had been moved to safer locations.

A Perfect Record

The Coffins helped people escape slavery for 20 years. In all that time, not a single person who stayed at their house was caught.

This perfect record required careful planning, community support, and the bravery of everyone involved. The law at that time severely punished both escaped slaves and their helpers.

The Passerby Who Stayed

William Bush escaped slavery in North Carolina during the 1840s and passed through the Coffin House. Family stories say he traveled hidden inside a wooden shipping crate addressed to Levi Coffin.
After gaining freedom, Bush settled permanently in the Fountain City area instead of continuing to Canada. His family still lives in the community to this day.
Bush’s great-great-granddaughter, Eileen Baker-Wall, became a volunteer tour guide at the historic site.

Visiting Levi and Catharine Coffin House

You’ll find the Levi and Catharine Coffin State Historic Site at 201 U.S. 27 North in Fountain City, Indiana. The site offers guided tours Wednesday through Sunday at 10:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., and 3:30 p.m. Admission costs $10 for adults and $5 for children, with group rates available.

Tours begin at the Interpretive Center before moving to the historic house. You’ll see the secret hiding spaces, basement kitchen with spring-fed well, and replica false-bottom wagon.

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