Artists and historians are coming together for a different kind of fundraiser at the Turnage Theatre in Washington.

A joint venture between the originators of Washington’s Underground Railroad Museum and the Beaufort County Arts Council, Creative Underground will be held on Aug. 13. Behind the scenes are historian Leesa Jones and Beaufort County Arts Council board member Rebecca Clark. For over a year, the two have been working to set up an Underground Railroad museum, to be housed in the Seaboard Coastline caboose on Washington Civic Center grounds at the corner of West Main and Gladden streets.

The caboose, unused since the 1980s, requires a bit of updating to make it museum-worthy, and this is where the idea for Creative Underground originated, first as a “read-in,” in which participants would read from favorite works.

“But we decided that didn’t really sound very interesting,” Clark laughed.

Jones and Clark decided to take advantage of local talent instead.

“We wanted something different that would really get the community excited and kind of pull them in. There’s a lot of talent in Washington. There aren’t a lot of opportunities, that I know of, for people to get together in a venue like the Turnage and kind of show off what they can do,” Jones said.

Ten acts will each get 10 minutes onstage at the Turnage. Each act will also contribute to the fundraiser, raised through donations from family and friends.

“We’re asking everyone to bring $100 to the table — just get $10 donations from all of your friends and hopefully all of them will come to see the acts because they helped pay for them,” Clark said. “It’s a serious cause, but it will be a fun evening.”

The serious cause is that Washington was a stop on the Underground Railroad, a fact Jones uncovered while collecting family history for her children and grandchildren, But as pieces of history were revealed, Jones’ work resulted in Washington being nationally recognized in October of 2014 as a point on the Underground Railroad — the road to freedom for the enslaved.

Though it’s a small space, the caboose will be used for storyboards, pictorial essays and storytelling to small groups about Washington’s role on the Underground Railroad — a place where slaves could board ships bound for faraway destinations. It will also serve as a launching point for the African-American historical walking tours that Jones and her husband, Milton, have held for several years, Jones said.

So far, seven spaces have been filled in Creative Underground’s lineup. Clark said she is looking for a few more and has no doubt they’ll turn up by performance night.

“Everybody wants their 15 minutes of fame. This way you can get 10 at the Turnage,” Jones laughed.

For more information about Creative Underground, or to sign up for the event, contact Rebecca Clark at mershonbill@aol.com or Leesa Jones at leesawisdom@aol.com. Creative Underground will run from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Aug. 13. The event is open to the public. Suggested donation at the door is $5.