Visit The Grand Central Station Of The Underground Railroad

Here is a side trip worth taking. The Levi Coffin house was built in 1839 in Newport (now Fountain City) by the coffin family. Levi was a Quaker businessman who moved from North Carolina to Indiana in 1826 because he and his wife Catharine opposed slavery. This house was built with hiding places to conceal people who were escaping slavery.

Levi sold goods that were “free-labor” meaning that they were not produced using slave labor. After living in this house and assisting more than 2000 slaves to freedom, they moved to Cincinnati and aided another 1300 to freedom. All the people the Coffins helped were never re-captured. From Richmond, Indiana, take highway 27 north to Fountain City. The house is on highway 27 in the center of town. There is no designated RV parking at this historic site, but you can park on the street in front of the house for 30 minutes. The house tours are only open to the public from June 1 through August 31. Admission is $2.00 for adults and $1.00 for children.

On the way, be sure to stop at the Amish deli and bakery, “Fountain Acres Foods” which will be on your right hand side just before you get to Fountain City. Here you will find wonderful baked goods and an interesting view of Amish culture.
You may want to pick up a shoo-fly pie or some of those mouth watering chocolate chip cookies, in fact I recommend you buy several packages because they go fast! Jim Twamley

Travel back in time to 1905

The butler admitted the small group of us to the "cottage" where we were greeted by Mr and Mrs. Bourn, dressed to the nines. Mrs. Bourn asked if we had come by train since we weren't dusty! We'd been warned that the people in this house were living in 1905 and we'd have to step back into their time.

The "cottage," of Cottswald design, was a 4600 square foot house the Bourns resided in for two or three weeks each year when they visited their property, the Empire Mine. It was the largest and richest of the California gold mines, producing more than $35,000,000 in gold between 1850 and 1956.

Once gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill in 1848, 49ers poured over the hills of the Sierra Nevadas. The Empire began as a claim on Ophir Hill, one mile southeast of Grass Valley. Through a succession of owners and purchases, the claim grew. More than 300 miles of tunnels honeycombed the claim to a depth of just short of two miles. Its most prosperous time was under W. B. Bourn, Jr., owner, and George Starr, superintendent.

The mine is now a California State Historic Park and worth a visit. The grounds near the cottage are lovely. Tall, old-growth Ponderosa dot the lawns, fragrent rose bushes line the walks. Besides the living history tour of the cottage, you can tour the gardens and the mineyards. Check the schedule and hours; tours vary by day and season. You can wander around the mine yard by yourself. Blacksmiths were working in that shop during our visit. On some occasions you can buy a "pasty" for lunch. These are the meat pies that miners took with them down into the mine for their meals. And you can take numerous walking trails to explore the park. In the works is an underground tour to actually experience the same environment, sights, and sounds as those experienced by working miners.

Besides chatting with Mr and Mrs. Bourn and George Starr, the superintendent,about the latest discovery in the mine plus the wonders of electricity in the cottage, the maid led us through the library and into the province of Katie, the live-in housekeeper/cook. We saw her splendid stove, fired by wood that cost $26- $10 more than the plain style of the day.

It you are in the mood to step back into time and to experience this vital part of California's history, put the Empire Mine State Historic Park on your list. Leave your RV where you are camping, though, and drive your toad or towed vehicle. Bring a picnic lunch and your walking shoes and enjoy the day! Jaimie