Community Corner
15 Underground Railroad Sites You Can Visit In Bucks County
There are locations you can visit in Bucks County, from Bristol to Quakertown, that were part of the system used to help escaped slaves.
The legendary Underground Railroad was a lifeline for thousands of escaped slaves in the 18th and 19th Century United States. But, did you know Bucks County was home to many important stops along its path?
From taverns and churches to privately owned farms, Bucks County's location north of Philadelphia, and near the Delaware River, made it a well traveled area by escaped slaves seeking freedom.
"It wasn't until I started researching locations for 'The North Star' that I realized how much Underground Railroad activity took place in Bucks County and how many traces of it you can still see," said filmmaker Thomas K. Phillips, whose movie tells the story of a local runaway slave named Benjamin Jones.
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With Black History Month approaching, tourism officials in Bucks County are encouraging locals and visitors alike to take a look at these historic spots. Here's a look at 15 Underground Railroad locations in Bucks County, with information provided by Visit Bucks County.
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The nearly 200-year-old church is the oldest African American church in Bensalem and a former Underground Railroad safe station. Robert Purvis, an abolitionist, rowed slaves up the Delaware River from Philadelphia to take refuge at the church and his family farm. It is estimated Purvis helped roughly 9,000 escaped slaves. He also helped fugitive slave Basil Dorsey win his freedom in a court trial in Doylestown in the 1830s.
Recognized for the elaborate grillwork on its porch, the Archambault House, in Newtown, was a station on the Underground Railroad during the Civil War. A dentist, innkeeper, postmaster and former owner of the Brick Hotel, Joseph O. Archambault, helped slaves keep moving north. It is now a private residence.
Bristol, in Lower Bucks County, was a frequent stop on the Underground Railroad, with local residents providing hiding spots for runaway slaves. Many historic buildings and locations from that time period remain.
Serving as a hotel in the 1800s, the Yardley tavern, as well as the nearby Yardley Grist Mill, is believed to have been a stop on the Underground Railroad connected to an underground tunnel system. Click here to watch Visit Bucks County's exclusive video tour underground.
Harriet Tubman Memorial Statue
Along the waterfront in Bristol, this statue honors Tubman, who dedicated her life to freedom and became one of the most well-known conductors on the Underground Railroad, risking her own life to bring slaves to freedom.
Known as the village of Attleboro during the Civil War, Langhorne was an Underground Railroad station connecting to Princeton, N.J. and New York. Attleboro was home to one of the earliest free black communities in Bucks County and the American Methodist Episcopal Church, established in 1809, is the earliest such congregation formed in Bucks County.
The oldest continually operating movie theater in the United States, the Newtown Theatre was known as Newtown Hall in the early 1850s. It was a popular location for town gatherings and anti-slavery meetings, with famed abolitionists Frederick Douglass and Lucretia Mott having spoken there.
Several locations in Yardley are believed to have been hiding places for fugitive slaves, including a white-columned mansion on South Main Street, a shop on Afton Avenue, a house on South Canal Street, the Old Library, the borough's Baptist and American Methodist Episcopal churches and a stone house on River Road.
Buckingham Friends Meeting House
Members of the meeting house, also called the Solebury Friends Meeting House, gave up slave ownership in 1776. After the abduction of local slave Benjamin "Big Ben" Jones, abolitionists held a series of anti-slavery lectures here and in Lambertville.
Doylestown
105 E. State St. in Doylestown was the home of Samuel Aron, a pastor at New Britain Baptist Church in the 1830s. He also was manager of the American Anti-Slavery Society and is believed to have hidden fugitive slaves at his home. It is now a private residence.
The first all African-American congregation in Bucks County became a critical stop on the Underground Railroad. Between 1830-1840, the congregation expanded from 70 people to 162, with runaway slaves from Maryland, Delaware and the Carolinas using the cover of Buckingham Mountain to begin new lives. The capture of church member Benjamin "Big Ben" Jones became a rallying cry for the congregation. The church still stands, along with its graveyard, in Holicong, near New Hope.
New Hope served as the end of the Underground Railroad in Bucks County. Here, slaves would cross the Delaware River into New Jersey, continuing on their journey north. Among other attractions, present-day visitors can get a guided historic tour at the Parry Mansion Museum, built in 1784 by one of New Hope's founders, Benjamin Parry.
Also in New Hope, this inn was used during the American Revolution to store armaments and, during the time of the Underground Railroad, it was used to hide people on their journey north. A hatch in the property's gazebo leads down to the underground tunnel system escaped slaves would use to get to the canal and continue on to Lumberville.
The Bucks County Visitor Center location in Quakertown shares space with the Quakertown Historical Society and the Upper Bucks Chamber of Commerce in a historic 19th Century barn. Off of Rt. 309 in downtown Quakertown, is includes a glass-enclosed display with historic artifacts.
Also in Quakertown, Richard Moore's stone house was a stop for slave traveling through Bucks County. A local potter, Moore was known for his hospitality. A former slave, Henry Franklin, drove the wagon that transported pottery, coal — and secretly, slaves — for Moore. The two helped more than 600 escaped slaves to freedom. The house is now a private residence.
Below, watch filmmaker Thomas K. Phillips visit some of Bucks County's locations related to the Underground Railroad:
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