This is an image of a place or building that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places in the United States of America. Its reference number is 100007739.

Summary

The Erastus Farnham House, just south of w:Fremont, Indiana, on w:Indiana State Road 827. Built in c. 1849, it is reputed to have been a stop on the w:Underground Railroad. It has been difficult to prove that this house, or that its owner Erastus Farnham, was associated with the Underground Railroad, largely due to the passage of time and the secretive (not to mention illegal) nature of the enterprise.

Nonetheless, local historians in Steuben County state unequivically that this house was used by the Underground Railroad. This paragraph from the Indiana State Representative Dick Dodge gives the general flavor of these reports:

"Erastus Farnham was another staunch abolitionist from our area who lived in Fremont. In 1847, he designed his home to include several features that would enable him to uses his home as an Underground Railroad Station. He placed a cupola at the top of his home, which is often an ornamental structure but his served as a lookout point. To bring in an additional water supply without provoking suspicion, he installed an internal cistern, which captures water from the gutters. The house is filled with stories and secrets but to this day retains its original charm and features."^[1]

See also Lee Sauer says:

"Local tradition holds that a home further north on the route built by Erastus Farnham on the south edge of Fremont was built around 1849 with features specifically suited to service on the UGRR. The house still maintains its mid-19th century look, complete with a cupola said to have been used as a look-out nest."

McClew, writing in 1955, is the strongest:

"My mother's father, Erastus Farnham, who was at one time county surveyor, was a pretty active member of the underground organization. He lived about two miles south of Fremont, near the Fremont and Angola road. . . My mother told me that the first negro she ever saw was a runaway slave who was brought to my grandfather's house and kept hidden until he could be taken on north at night.

"My grandfather had a brother named A. Farnham who lived on the Fremont and Angola road not far from my grandfather's place. He similarly kept runaway slaves and helped them to make their way to freedom."

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources also states tha case:

Erastus Farnham, a stuanch abolitionist, built this home in 1847 and used it as a stop on the Underground Railroad. Today, the home retains its nineteenth-century features including a cupola that served as a lookout point and an internal cistern, which allowed the clandestine capture of water from the gutters. This extra water allowed the house to support additional guests when necessary without raising suspicion."

Notes

• Dodge, Dick "The Dodge Report", June 13, 2006, accessed August 18, 2008.
• Indiana Department of Natural Resources, "Underground Railroad Sites: Fremont", accessed August 24, 2009.
• McClew, Maurice (1956) "The Underground Railroad in Steuben County", Harvey Morley, editor, The 1955 History, Complete County Atlas, pictorial and Biographical Album of Steuben County, Indiana, Angola, Indiana, pp. 354-357.
• Sauer, Lee "Freedom Trail: The Underground Railroad ran through northeast Indiana, accessed August 18, 2008.

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