Levi Coffin home photograph   Save
Wilbur H. Siebert Collection
Description: Photomechanical reproduction of Levi Coffin's home that was located in Fountain City, Wayne County, Indiana, and served as a stop on the Underground Railroad. Levi Coffin (1798-1877) and his wife Catharine (1803-1881) were reputed to have harbored more than two thousand slaves from the fall of 1826 to 1846. Coffin was even referred to as the "President of the Underground Railroad." Coffin later moved to Cincinnati, Ohio where he continued to offer his home as an Underground Railroad stop. The person in the photograph is not identified. The image was collected by Ohio State University professor Wilbur H. Siebert (1866-1961). Siebert began researching the Underground Railroad in the 1890s as a way to interest his students in history. On the photograph written in the left hand corner is: "MARetts Prep" Next to the figure in photograph is written: "Under Ground Railway Hotel. Fountain City Ind [Indiana]" Next to the tree in the photograph is written: "Built 1839" The sign on the building reads: "HOTEL" View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL03010
Subjects: Siebert, Wilbur Henry, 1866-1961; Coffin, Levi, 1798-1877; Underground Railroad--Indiana
Places: Fountain City (Indiana); Wayne County (Indiana)