Among the many who risked reputation, harm and even death to fight slavery, one name – George Boxley – has been all but lost in Indiana history. Now, through grants from several organizations, including the National Park Service’s Historic Preservation Fund; Legacy Fund, an affiliate of CICF; and Efroymson Family Fund, a fund of CICF, the town of Sheridan, Indiana, is reclaiming the credit Boxley has been due for 180 years. And in doing so, the town itself will reclaim a place in Indiana history.

The home of George Boxley, a cabin built in 1828, has undergone a four-year restoration effort led by the Sheridan Historical Society and the Town of Sheridan. The landmark is now on the National Register of Historic Places and opened to the public April 24, 2008.

Aside from its importance to American history, the Boxley George Boxley Cabin Helps revitalize Sheridan, Indiana Cabin is significant because it is one phase of a larger plan that will transform Sheridan into an attractive heritage tourism destination. The plan includes a visitor center, a new Sheridan Historical Society museum facility with pioneer collections, and a new multipurpose center that will flow into Sheridan’s Main Street and the Sheridan Monon Trail.

The Boxley Cabin restoration has been transformative for Sheridan because it goes the distance in helping make Sheridan a stronger community, said Brenda Bush of the Sheridan Historical Society. “It gives the Sheridan community definition and adds to its formal education and lifelong learning,” she added.

Just as relevant is that the restoration project forged broad-based community engagement, with residents becoming engaged in defining the future of the community.

Lori Efroymson–Aguilera, whose family has long supported historic preservation efforts, stated, “Our family believes that one measure of a community’s character can be seen in how it preserves its history. Community history is often reflected in architecture and has so much to teach us. For that reason, we were pleased to be able to support this important project.”

Brad Little, president of Legacy Fund, said, “As the community foundation for Hamilton County, Legacy Fund has been proud to be a part of the transformation that is taking place in our local communities like Sheridan. The Boxley Cabin is just one of those examples. Through the commitment the Sheridan Historical Society has made, the Boxley Cabin preserves the heritage and rich tradition of Sheridan in a way that students, visitors and residents can all learn and appreciate.”

About George Boxley
George Boxley’s story began more than 700 miles from Sheridan, in Spotsylvania County, Virginia. The question of whether slavery should continue in the newly free United States was being hotly debated in Congress and among families. It would be four years before the Missouri Compromise would outlaw slavery in the northern states; meanwhile, the Fugitive Slave Act made it a crime to interfere with the recapture of a runaway slave.

Famous abolitionist John Brown was just a teenager when George Boxley began angering neighbors and local officials with his outspoken criticism of slavery, still legal in Virginia. In exchange for her freedom, a slave accused Boxley of provoking a slave rebellion, and he was jailed. After watching men hang for their supposed roles in the plot, Boxley knew he had to flee.

His wife, a quiet woman named Hannah, sewed a fine-spring saw into the hem of her skirt and smuggled it into her husband’s jail cell. He escaped into the darkness on May 5, 1816.

Boxley would be on the run for the next 12 years, pursued by bounty hunters after a $1,000 reward ($30,000 in today’s dollars). Eventually, he came to Adams Township in what is now Sheridan. In the uninhabited, thick forest, he built a small log cabin – and stopped running.

“When Boxley built his cabin, it was totally secluded except for Indians, a few bears and  other wildlife,” said Edgar H. Spear, president of the Sheridan Historical Society. Boxley literally had to carve his home out of that wilderness and develop the frontier farm with pure will, determination and muscle.

Boxley died in 1865, the same year the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution outlawed slavery.

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