"UNDERGROUND RAILROAD" STATION AT BETHEL

Among the very first settlements made in Fountain County was that of Bethel.  The majority of the first settlers of this neighborhood were Quakers.  Almost as soon as land was opened for entry at the Crawfordsville land office, (Dec. l824), they had selected their lands and taken their claims in the Bethel neighborhood.

A quarter of a mile north of the Bethel Church was a very dense timber and swampland.  The Quakers, on account of their religion, were bitterly opposed to the institution of slavery and soon conceived of the idea of making this area their "station".  They built 20 to 25 cabins and from about 1826 until the Civil War , hundreds of run-a-way slaves went through this location on their way to Canada.  The Quakers furnished them with food, clothing and shelter then sent them on their way on the "Underground Railroad."

Some of the "station" people continued to live in the area after the war.  Ben Moore, a survivor of the Alamo, and his familly lived in Davis Township and later in Tippecanoe County.  The last remaining representative of the "station" was Jim Jackson who lived in Attica until he died in the l950's.

Excerpts from the HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF THE WABASH VALLEY by J. Wesley Whicker

Submitted by Dale and Betty Clawson