Louise Calloway, Founder Of Burlington County's Underground Railroad Museum, Dies

BURLINGTON COUNTY, NJ — Louise M. Calloway, founder and curator of the county Underground Railroad Museum, has died at the age of 93.

Calloway first opened the historic museum in Burlington City, near a station on the Underground Railroad, in 2005. She died on Feb. 8, the museum said.

Her collection included a history of Africa and of the Black experience in America, chronicling the struggle for freedom and the Garden State's place on the Underground Railroad.

"New Jersey was a gateway to the north," Calloway said in a state Black History Month profile last year.

Burlington County had at least 16 stops on the Underground Railroad and has been called "The Cradle of Emancipation" because many slaves were first given their freedom here "in large numbers," according to the museum. Quaker Abolitionists made the region "a leading light" in the movement to emancipate enslaved people.

Calloway wanted the younger generations to understand their ancestors' history, and that the Underground Railroad was "not a myth," she said last year.

The privately-operated museum, which also included a coffeehouse and exhibition space, closed in spring 2013.

Several years later, commissioners decided to house some of her collection in Historic Smithville Park (Eastampton). The organization is independent from the county Parks System.

A celebration of life for Calloway is Sunday, March 12 from 2-6 p.m. at the Soul Anchor of Burlington (322 High Street, Burlington NJ 08016). In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Underground Railroad Museum of Burlington County (P.O. Box 3117, Willingboro, NJ 08046).

Burlington County Commissioners were "deeply saddened" by the news of her death, they said in a statement:

"As the founder and curator of the Underground Railroad Museum of Burlington County, Louise made it her life’s work and passion to preserve and share the often hidden history of Black Americans’ struggle for freedom and equality both in Burlington County and beyond. Since 2013, Burlington County has proudly provided a home for the Underground Railroad Museum at Historic Smithville Park and we look forward to continuing that partnership and ensuring Louise’s knowledge and legacy lives on and continues to be shared. Our Board express our deepest condolences to Louise’s family, friends and all who were touched by her.”