The Underground Railroads Town Clock Church 2019

Across the Ohio River and Sherman Minton Bridge is the town of New Albany, Indiana with a monumental history unlike any other city in the United States. This city has a church that was a station for the Underground Railroad that included a tunnel under the Ohio River since before the Civil War. This station was used to help black people escape from slavery to freedom with the help of others. Dating back to 1892, the church was originally the 2nd Presbyterian Church breaking away from the more conservative 1st Presbyterians to run the station preceding and during the American Civil War which ended in 1855. Later the Town Clock Church became the 2nd Baptist Church, with an African-American congregation, when the 2nd Presbyterian church relocated elsewhere in New Albany. The Town Clock Church a restored 160-foot high steeple that is so tall it can be seen in an overall view of the city opposite the view of the Sherman Minton bridge, which connects New Albany, In to Louisville, Ky.

The church, which was built in 1852 using the Greek Revival style of architecture, sits up from the bank of the Ohio River at the intersection of Third and East Main streets in New Albany.

The front of the church has several plaques indicating

the history of the church and the importance of the

church to American history. This one is from Historic New Albany, Inc.

This "Gateway to Freedom" sign which sits in front of the church is continued on the other side.

This "Gateway to Freedom" sign which sits in front of the church is continued from the other side.

Amazingly, the Town Clock Church looks almost just as it did during the time of slavery and the civil war.

The “You Are Here” indication on the map is just behind the church. There is a flood wall that runs along the river just behind the church that was not there during the active days of the Underground Railroad.

Behind the church is the recently built Underground

Railroad Garden with an old-world, wood-carving style,

map, a mosaic that was made by New Albany High School

students, a gazebo donated by the Horseshoe (Casino)

Foundation, and the famous Winged Man statue that was

restored with funds from Town Clock supporter Malinda

Kost-Shaffer and Ohio Valley Health before it was donated

by WAVE 3 TV of Louisville, Kentucky.

The Winged Man statue plaque.

The old-looking historic map of the river the the Underground Railroad Garden.

The Underground Railroad Garden welcome sign.

Mosaic artwork, created by New Albany High School students, in the Underground Railroad Garden.

On the first floor of the church is the informal chapel that

is used for most functions, including normal Sunday

services. On the right side there is a chairlift which can help the physically

impaired up to the formal chapel.

On the left side is the trap door (sometimes

obscured under a rug) that leads down to the basement

Underground Railroad station. Also on that side is astaircase that leads upstairs to the formal chapel.

To the right of the pulpit in the informal chapel are two

signboards detailing the progression of pastoralleadership of the church from 1837.

Reverend L. V. Marshall, Jr. is the present-day pastor who often works in

his office, even during the week, to cheerfully host bible

study, oversee church renovation, maintenance, or

attend to other matters.

Stairs, on the left side of the church, leading up to the formal chapel.

After taking a small inconspicous door on the second floor

and going up some very narrow old stairs past the stained

glass window on the front of the church, you are treated to a

grandiose view of the formal chapel from the second floorbalcony.

Detail of the stained glass windows in the narrow stairs leading up to the balcony.

At the time of this writing, the balcony is still being remodeled

but does give a great view of formal chapel over the white

picket fence style bannister. Also, clearly visible is the band

area, the pulpit, the pipe organ, and the very impressive

restored stained glass windows.

Downstairs, in the informal chapel, located on the first

floor, is the trap door that leads down to the basement

Underground Railroad station area.

View thru the trap door opening to the basement area.

There is a light switch at the entrance of the unfinished wooden stairs leading down to the Underground Railroad area that has bare dirt floors, unpainted brick walls, and is dimly lit by sparse bare electric bulbs. The feeling, despite a few modern but modest electric lights, is like going back in time to almost 200 years ago. Not surprisingly, the basement area smells a little damp and musty, but is very quiet. You can barely hear the sounds of the church above.

There are several rooms in the Underground Railroad station, some have blocked up openings, others have strong old wooded doors that can not be opened. All the rooms but one have raw dirt floors.

Along the brick walls of the rooms are small arched openings of about three feet high that are portals that often reveal a tunnel-like view of the bare dirt crawl spaces where people trying to escape from slavery often hid before transported further north.

Sometimes, the

portals revealed similar, distant, portals that uncannily opened into other rooms.

Detailed view of one of the portals where black people, trying to escape from slavery, hid.

Although most rooms have bare raw dirt floors, this room, only, has a dividing area that separates the earthen floor from the river silt-like floor that seems authentically like that

of Underground Railroad in its heyday.

Some of the rooms are amazingly large but there are enough smaller rooms and passageways between them to get temporarily lost. The largest room runs from a group of smaller rooms near the front of the church all the way back to the white back door at the rear of the church with a large embossed cross on it. This door opens to the Underground Railroad Garden behind the church.

Behind the church, the white back door is noticeably short. You must stoop to get through it to the Underground Railroad Garden that contains plaques and monuments just behind the church.

At the end of the day, the sun sets, again, on one of the most important churches in America’s history, the 2nd Baptist Town Clock Church in New Albany, Indiana.

The Winged Man statue that stands majestically behind the 2nd Baptist Town Clock Church in the Underground Railroad Garden. New Albany, Indiana.

Photo by Larry J. Basham