FOUNTAIN CITY, IN — A closure of Fountain City’s park and cemetery Sunday resulted in the cancelation of a previously scheduled tour by officials of the Levi and Catharine Coffin House.
A guided African-American Cemetery Tour at Willow Grove Cemetery was planned for 2 to 3 p.m. June 15, but Joanna Hahn, site manager for the Levi and Catharine Coffin House, said she was told a baseball or softball tournament scheduled for the same day resulted in police tape blocking off the entrance.
“My understanding is there was a fear of people parking,” Hahn said. “We were asking people to meet in the park for the tour and nobody would be able to park there and such. We just didn’t want to put anybody in a position that they couldn’t park or would have to park somewhat of a distance and walk because that’s not how we imagined the program happening.”
The tour planned to point out some of Fountain City’s early African-American settlers who were buried in the cemetery, with volunteer Shari Petersime scheduled to share stories from the settlers.
Hahn said the tour has not been rescheduled yet but encouraged visitors to attend Saturday’s free admission day for its Juneteenth celebration, themed around “History, Health and the Arts.”
“We have available tours throughout Saturday that people can register for,” she said.
Guided tours are available at the site at 10:30 and 11:45 a.m., and 1:30, 3 and 4 p.m. at 201 U.S. 27 No. Fountain City. Advance registration is encouraged by calling the site at (765) 847-1691.
In addition to the Levi and Catherine Coffin House, 10 other state historic sites are offering free admission to the public for a Juneteenth celebration Saturday, with a full slate of events scheduled at the Indiana State Museum in Indianapolis.
A town representative to speak on the closure was unable to be reached in time for publication.
Evan Weaver is a news and sports reporter at The Palladium-Item. Contact him on X (@evan_weaver7) or email at eweaver@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Richmond Palladium-Item: Levi and Catherine Coffin House offers free admission Saturday in celebration of Juneteenth
Reporting by Evan Weaver, Richmond Palladium-Item / Richmond Palladium-Item
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