The Continental Tavern was once a stop on the Underground Railroad. (Credit: Visit Bucks County)
Bucks County has 16 historical sites connected to the Underground Railroad, according to a new report from John Berry at The Trentonian.
These locations include homes, churches, and public buildings that played significant roles in assisting escaped slaves in the 18th and 19th centuries. The network of safe spaces was essential for the journey northward, providing refuge and support to those seeking freedom.
Among the notable sites is the 1870 Wedgwood Inn in New Hope, which hid people in its cellar and provided an underground tunnel leading to the canal, per the article.
The Buckingham Friends Meeting House in Solebury hosted anti-slavery lectures and was used as a hospital during the Revolutionary War, according to the article. The Newtown Theatre, the oldest continuously operating movie theater in the United States, was a venue for anti-slavery meetings and hosted famous abolitionists like Frederick Douglass and Lucretia Mott, according to The Trentonian.
The Continental Tavern was once a stop on the Underground Railroad. (Credit: Visit Bucks County)Visit Bucks County offers a self-guided tour split into Upper/Central Bucks and Lower Bucks drives, each taking about an hour on the road excluding stops, per the report. This educational journey through Bucks County provides an immersive experience into the area's contributions to the Underground Railroad.
Sites like the AME Church in Bensalem played a crucial role in aiding runaways. Robert Purvis helped an estimated 9,000 fugitive slaves find refuge and was instrumental in legal battles, such as Basil Dorsey's case in Doylestown.
