Philadelphia, PA - Underground Railroad, historical attractions (the Liberty Bell Center, Mother Bethel A.M.E., Belmont Mansion, Johnson House, Fair Hill burial ground), historical markers (London Coffee House, Free African Society andhomes of Cyrus Bustill, Frances E.W. Harper, Robert Purvis, William Still, William Whipper) and city and regional libraries, archives and tours. Visitor demand for this information inspired the piece’s creation.
“The Underground Railroad is an undeniably important part of American history,” said Jenea Robinson, senior media relations manager, VISIT PHILADELPHIA. “Philadelphia played a very interesting role in this movement. The city took part in the trans-Atlantic slave trade, but also had a significant population of freed African-Americans and others who tried to make things right.
Featured Sites: A brochure is available at the Independence Visitor Center , the African American Museum in Philadelphia, the Johnson House in historic Germantown and more. It is also available online at: visitphilly.com/undergroundrailroad.
Here’s a look at some of the sites—all open to the public—featured in the brochure:
1. Liberty Bell, home to the famously cracked Bell, a symbol adopted by abolitionist societies in the 1830s and later by freedom seekers around the world. 6th & Market Streets, nps.gov/inde
2. President’s House: Freedom and Slavery in the Making of a New Nation, memorial site of the home where President George Washington lived and enslaved nine Africans, including Oney Judge, who escaped bondage. 6th & Market Streets, nps.gov/inde
3. Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, theactiveflagship of the nation’s first black denomination, where fugitives sought refuge, and Harriet Tubman, Lucretia Mott, Frederick Douglass and William Still spoke from the pulpit. 6th & Lombard Streets, motherbethel.org
4. Historic St. George’s Methodist Church, house of worship where Reverends Richard Allen and Absalom Jones became the first licensed African-American Methodist ministers and led a walkout over a discriminatory seating policy. 235 N. 4th Street, historicstgeorges.org
5. Belmont Mansion, 1742 home of Judge Richard Peters, who purchased slaves in order to free them and hid fugitives in the attic; onsite Underground Railroad Museum tells of Cornelia Wells, a freed African-American. 2000 Belmont Mansion Drive, Fairmount Park, belmontmansion.org
6. Historic Fair Hill, circa 1703 Quaker burial ground, the final resting place of Lucretia Mott, Robert Purvis and other abolitionists; now also an environmental education center surrounded by murals portraying 300 years of social justice in Philadelphia. 2901 Germantown Avenue, historicfairhill.com
7.Johnson House National Historic Site, thewell-preserved home of Quakers Samuel and Jennet Johnson, who took in and cared for escaped slaves in the 1800s. 6306 Germantown Avenue, Germantown, johnsonhouse.org
8. Historical Society of Pennsylvania (HSP), repository of hundreds of printed items, manuscripts and graphic items relating to the abolitionist movement, including the journal of Underground Railroad agent William Still. 1301 Locust Street, hsp.org
9. Library Company of Philadelphia, Benjamin Franklin-founded organization with a 13,000-piece Afro-American Collection that includes documents and books about slavery and abolitionism.1314 Locust Street, librarycompany.org
10. Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection at Temple University, library with narratives by Sojourner Truth and Frederick Douglass, first editions by Phyllis Wheatley, W.E.B. DuBois and more. Sullivan Hall, 1300 W. Berks Street, library/temple.edu/collections/blockson
11. Chester County Historical Society, home to artifacts and manuscripts that detail the bucolic county’s role in abolitionist history and the Underground Railroad. 225 N. High Street, West Chester, chestercohistorical.org
12. Kennett Underground Railroad Center, Chester County base for tours of Underground Railroad sites that depart from Brandywine Valley Tourism Information Center. 300 Greenwood Road, Kennett Square, kennettundergroundrr.org
13. National Archives at Philadelphia, Northeast Philadelphia site for researching ancestry of people who lived in Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia. 14700 Townsend Road, archives.gov/philadelphia
The Philly Taco, South Street Sushi, The Lorenzo's and Jim's Challenge - Are you searching for the ultimate Philadelphia frank'enfood, look no further, its The Philly Taco. A combination of a Philly cheesesteak and a slice of pizza. The combo gets its origins on South Street, where foodies of all kinds head over to both Jim's Steaks and Lorenzo's Pizza for their steaks and pizza. Just wrap your Jim's steak in your in your Lorenzo slice, and you just made The Philly Taco or South Street Sushi.
