The end of the Civil War brought the end of slavery as a federally-protected policy, and thus eliminated the need for fugitive slave laws. Their end brought a larger fulfillment of the Declaration of Independence’s commitment to the proposition that “all men are created equal.” Yet, the history of fugitive slaves often fell into tales of folklore and hyperbole.
The most recent Untold Indiana post looks at a primary source like newspapers to help dispel many of the myths and provide nuance to the controversial subject of human enslavement in the United States. These stories represent a small fraction of the larger narrative about American slavery.
The only confirmed underground railroad house in Allen County is the 1840 ALEXANDER T. RANKIN HOUSE at 818 Lafayette Street discussed by ARCH ( Architecture and Community Heritage).
020717 Jeannie Regan Dinius, Indiana DNR, Speaks About Underground RR in Indiana posted February 13, 2017 by Kevin Murphy on YouTube
Indiana Department of Natural Resources representative, Jeannie Regan-Dinius, proved a detailed account of Indiana's history regarding slavery and the Underground Railroad. Her presentation is especially rich in its emphasis of investigative methodology required to separate mythology from documentable fact, a tutorial that could serve well for any field of investigation.
“I thought it was always safe to do right. The Bible, in bidding us to feed the hungry and clothe the naked, said nothing about color, and I should try to follow out the teachings of that good book.”
Catharine Coffin, an antislavery activist who opened her Indiana home to help freedom-seekers on the Underground Railroad, has been honored with a new Forever stamp issued by the U.S. Postal Service.
Catharine Coffin, an antislavery activist who opened her Indiana home to help freedom-seekers on the Underground Railroad, has been honored with a new Forever stamp issued by the U.S. Postal Service.
Tonight we're proud to unveil the new Underground Railroad Forever stamp series featuring Catharine Coffin! One of 10 stamps in the series from the US Postal Service, it honors the work Catharine did to provide shelter, food and guidance for freedom-seekers. We have a limited amount of stamps available for purchase in our gift shop. Stop by and get yours!
Tonight we're proud to unveil the new Underground Railroad Forever stamp series featuring Catharine Coffin! One of 10 stamps in the series from the US Postal Service, it honors the work Catharine did to provide shelter, food and guidance for freedom-seekers.
We have a limited amount of stamps available for purchase in our gift shop. Stop by and get yours!
The United States has been accumulating records since the first meeting of the Continental Congress in 1774, and, as the government grew, so did the paperwork it created. Until 1934, however, there were no national archives to consolidate the papers, so each government department, bureau, or office retained custody of its own records.
In this Pieces of History blog post, learn about the creation of "The Guide to the Archives of the Government of the United States in Washington," published in 1904. The book was lauded as the first comprehensive list of records held by the federal government and was instrumental in the creation of the National Archives in 1934.
“With new high-speed scanners and a dedicated team of digitization staff, this new center is a game changer for the National Archives,” said Archivist of the United States Dr. Colleen Shogan.
The National Archives and Records Administration launched a state-of-the-art digitization center in College Park, Maryland, enabling faster access to the country's most important historical federal government records. Archivist of the United States Dr. Colleen Shogan, Rep. Steny Hoyer), Sen. Chris Van Hollen), and Rep. Glenn Ivey took part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony April 12, 2024.
High-speed scanners and overhead camera systems that can handle a range of records and formats are among the equipment in the new facility. The National Archives will be able to digitize up to ten times as many records annually with the use of this technology. The public will have access to millions more records due to these upgrades. The agency’s goal of making access happen to federal records is dependent on our ability to expedite the digitization of our more than 13 billion documents.
National Archives Digitization Center April 12, 2024 US National Archives on YouTube
A new state-of-the-art digitization center is allowing the National Archives to provide greater public access to the country’s most important historical federal government records faster than ever before. The center’s opening is the first phase of a multiyear renovation project to support the mass digitization of enormous volumes of textual, photographic, and microfilm archival records and allow the agency to better meet its goal of providing access to its holdings digitally online.
Learn more on our Federal Records Management page: https://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/memos/ac-17-2024
Learn more on our Federal Records Management page: NARA to remove analog records as part of new digitization standardsThe National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is moving away from analog records and requiring it in digital format. June 30 will be the deadline.
In 1820, the national government recognized the growing importance of Fort Wayne by establishing the first post office to serve Allen County. The first postmaster of Fort Wayne, Benjamin B. Kercheval, was appointed on February 4, 1820. As Kercheval declined to serve, Samuel Hanna became the first man to serve Fort Wayne as postmaster, holding this post from 1820-1825. Another citizen to hold the position of postmaster, from 1825-1831, was prominent local businessman Allen Hamilton. John G. Maier served as postmaster from 1853-1861. Today Kathryn Harris serves as the 36th Postmaster of Fort Wayne and Allen County. Though established nearly 70 years earlier, the first building constructed for use as U.S. Post Office and Federal Building did not open to the public until 1889. Located at the corner of southeast corner of Clinton and Berry Streets, the new post office filled the area left following the destruction of First Presbyterian by fire in 1882. Built out of sandstone in the Richardsonian Romanesque style, this impressive post office served the citizens of Fort Wayne and Allen County until the completion of the new South Harrison Street U.S. Post Office and Federal Building in 1932. After 35 years, the Post Office vacated the Federal Building in 1987, moving into larger quarters located at 1500 South Clinton. 198 years after its establishment in Fort Wayne, the Post Office continues to faithfully serve the people of Fort Wayne and Allen County.
Visit The History Center to see our new temporary display entitled, Handling Our Mail - The United States Post Office: Serving Allen County Since 1820. #sociallyhistory
We were at the downtown post office this afternoon and reminded of this blog post by Tom Castaldi: http://historycenterfw.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-pennsy-shops.html
We were at the downtown post office this afternoon and reminded of this blog post by Tom Castaldi: The Pennsy Shops
From the blog: Fort Wayne ceased to make locomotives after World War I, and much of the work at the Pennsy Shops was given to repair and overhaul. When locomotive rebuilding in Fort Wayne ended in 1933, the shops continued to build passenger cars. Still, the shops declined sharply after World War II. Finally, in 1953 the last of the railroad operations closed, and by 1966 all the property had been abandoned; the roundhouse, the last vestige of the Pennsy Shops, was razed in 1984.
Fifty years ago today, in 1963, the United States Postal Service introduced ZIP codes. "ZIP" stands for "Zone Improvement Plan" — designed to make sorting and delivering mail more efficient. The first three digits represent the part of the country the mail is going to, and the last two identify the post office within that region.
In 1983, the U.S. Postal Service rolled out "ZIP + 4," which added a hyphen and four additional digits. The first two digits of the addendum stand for a specific group of streets or cluster of large buildings, and the last two narrow it down further, specifying one side of the block or even one floor in a large building.
ZIP codes start with zero in the Northeast and get bigger as one moves south and west. There are more than 42,000 ZIP codes in the United States.
For "Throwback Thursday" we share this article from The Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette regarding the "new" downtown post office. If you recall we shared a picture of the Hofer brothers back on September 15th surveying the site in the fall of 1975.
The land was bordered by Lafayette, Brackenridge and Barr streets and Douglas Avenue and lots south of the block extending on Lafayette Street to the Penn Central railroad tracks. It was shared December 15, 2022 on True Fort Wayne Indiana History on Facebook.
