Westfield
A town comes to the rescue
That all should be free was a belief held by those living in Westfield, Indiana, settled by Quakers who were abolitionists.
And so when Singleton Vaughn and his group of slave hunters captured the Rhodes family who had settled near there after fleeing a farm in Missouri, a sly Westfield resident said that he owed the Rhodes money and Vaughn should stop by to get it before leaving town with the Rhodes.
Once Vaughn and his men arrived, they were invited to stay for breakfast, a seemingly kindly thing to do. But it was a plot and shortly after, when the men boarded the wagon again to take the Rhodes away, they were met by a large party of men determined to stop them.
In the ensuing fight, two teenagers jumped aboard the wagon and rode off with the Rhodes and when the slave hunters caught up with them later, the Rhodes family was gone.
Take a tour with Michael Kobrowski and his wife Nicole, owners of Indiana Ghost Walks and Tours whose Haunted Underground Railroad Walking Tour guides people through historic downtown Westfield past spots connected to the town’s unique part in the Underground Railroad.
But that’s not all Westfield is about. After touring be sure to stop and try the slow cooked brisket at Big Hoffa’s Smokehouse Bar-B-Que. Spend a leisurely afternoon in Cool Creek Park. And keep in mind that in 2013, Westfield, which is north of Indianapolis, held the 18th spot by CNN Money list of best places to live.