The USPS unveiled its Underground Railroad Forever stamp series honoring Catharine Coffin among ten historic figures, at a ceremony at the Coffin State Historic Site on March 2, 2024.
On March 2, 2024, the United States Postal Service publicly unveiled its new Underground Railroad Forever stamp series, which included Catharine White Coffin among ten historic figures recognized for their contributions to helping enslaved people escape to freedom. The unveiling ceremony was fittingly held at the Levi and Catharine Coffin State Historic Site in Fountain City, Indiana, the very location of the couple's former home and store, which now serves as a museum interpreting their Underground Railroad activities.
This recognition marked a significant national commemorative first for Catharine, whose contributions had historically been overshadowed in popular memory by her husband. Her inclusion on an official U.S. postage stamp brought her individual legacy to a national audience, embedding her likeness and story into a widely circulated form of American civic commemoration.
The event drew significant attention from Indiana media and historical institutions, including the Indiana State Museum, and was highlighted as part of Women's History Month coverage recognizing historic Hoosier women. The stamp series as a whole sought to elevate lesser-known figures of the Underground Railroad beyond the most famous names like Harriet Tubman, ensuring that women like Catharine Coffin—whose labor of feeding, clothing, and sheltering thousands of freedom seekers was essential but historically under-credited—received formal, lasting national recognition. The ceremony's location at the historic site itself underscored the deep connection between Catharine's physical legacy and this contemporary honor.