Speed Log Cabin

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 his family of seven. John Speed, a native of Perth, Scotland, was just one man involved in the crusade with his wife, Margaret. Their daughter and two young sons helped them feed, clothe, and encourage their black visitors to find freedom from bondage.

When the revision of the Fugitive Slave Act by Congress in 1850 made escape from slavery even more difficult, Speed and his wife 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 with the help of Nelson and Mariah Patterson.

Speed not only transported slaves, but also hid them in the loft of this small cabin as well. From Crawfordsville, 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.