Speed Cabin - Crawfordsville, IN - Underground Railroad Sites on Waymarking.com

In 1838 John A. Speed, a stone mason from Scotland, added this small cabin to his main house as a "cook shed" but it expanded into additional living quarters for Speed's family of seven.

When the revision of the Fugitive Slave Act by Congress in 1850 made escape from slavery even more difficult, Speed began to take an active role in the Abolition Movement. He became both a "conductor" and a "stationmaster" on the western line of the Underground Railroad.



Speed not only transported slaves, but hid them in the loft of this small cabin as well. From here, the fugitives moved along to the north with the hope of reaching Canadian soil where they would be forever free.



The cabin was relocated from the Crawfordsville Municipal Park to the Lane Place grounds in 1989. The new setting is an appropriate site, as Henry Lane gave a stinging attack on the attempt to extend slavery into "free" territory at the first national Republican convention in 1856.

Address: 212 S. Water St. P.O. Box 127 Crawfordsville, IN United States 47933 Web site: [Web Link] Site Details: Wednesdays through Saturdays: 10:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m. Sundays: 1:00 pm - 5:00 p.m. Admission is $3.00 for adults and $1.00 for children aged 6-11 Open to the public?: Public Name of organization who placed the marker: Montgomery County Historical Society

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Date Logged Log User Rating   04/05/2014 KC9PDY visited it 08/21/2008 GwynEvie visited it

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