Philadelphia, home of the 17th-century Quaker abolitionist movement and the city where a young Harriet Tubman found freedom, played a vital role in the Underground Railroad.
For centuries, Philadelphia’s Historic District was an active port where African individuals and families were brought to be sold, separated and sent off to enslavement.
And yet, this same district was home to the nation’s largest neighborhood of free African Americans, the Seventh Ward (between Spruce and South Streets and 6th and 23rd Streets) and the first African Methodist Episcopal Church (Mother Bethel).
Freedom was the goal for the thousands of enslaved Africans on the Underground Railroad, a secret network of safe houses, churches and farms that offered shelter and safety, which many found in the Philadelphia region.
Read on to learn more about where to visit historic Underground Railroad sites in the region.
“Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof ” reads the biblical inscription atop this famously cracked Liberty Bell and symbol of the abolitionist movement. Exhibits and videos in the center trace the evolution of the Bell into an international icon of freedom.
Where: Liberty Bell Center, 6th & Market streets
In the shadows of Independence Hall stand the remnants of the home where President George Washington enslaved nine Africans. In 1796, one of them, Ona Judge, used the help of Philadelphia’s community of free Blacks to escape bondage. The free open-air Independence National Historical Park site, on the same block as the Liberty Bell Center, invites visitors to learn about the events that transpired through illustrated glass panels and video reenactments, and then partake in silent reflection.
Where: The President's House, 6th & Market streets
Founded by Bishop Richard Allen, Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church sits on the oldest parcel of land continuously owned by African Americans and serves as the “mother” church of the nation’s first Black denomination. Allen and his wife, Sarah, offered escaped Africans refuge here. Harriet Tubman, Lucretia Mott, Frederick Douglass and William Still spoke from Mother Bethel’s pulpit. Today, Mother Bethel is a church (where the congregation worships weekly), museum and archive. The museum houses the tomb of Bishop Richard Allen and artifacts dating to the 1600s, tracing the history of the AME Church. Reservations are required for museum tours.
Where: Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church and Richard Allen Museum, 419 S. 6th Street
The home of the abolitionist Judge Richard Peters, opponent to the Fugitive Slave Act and precedent-setting judicial decision-maker, has been preserved and transformed into the Underground Railroad Museum at Belmont Mansion. Visitors can take a self-guided tour to view historical artifacts and hear narratives about the site’s history, including that of Cornelia Wells, a free African American woman who lived there.
Where: Belmont Mansion, 2000 Belmont Mansion Drive
The African American Museum in Philadelphia, founded in 1976, is the first institution built by a major U.S. city to preserve, interpret and exhibit the heritage and culture of African Americans. The museum takes a fresh and bold look at the stories of African Americans and their role in the founding of the nation through the core exhibit, Audacious Freedom. Other exhibitions and programs reveal the history, stories and cultures of those of African descent throughout the African diaspora.
Where: The African American Museum in Philadelphia, 701 Arch Street
In 1784, Reverends Richard Allen and Absalom Jones became the first licensed African American Methodist ministers, but the two led a walkout when the leaders of St. George’s restricted seating for its Black members. In 1787, the pair founded the Free African Society, a nondenominational “mutual aid” society that helped fugitive slaves and new migrants. Portraits, items of worship, manuscripts and other artifacts are on display in the original St. George’s building. Museum tours are available by appointment only.
Where: Historic St. George's United Methodist Church, 235 N. 4th Street
This 1703 Quaker burial ground is the final resting place of Lucretia Mott, Robert Purvis and other abolitionists. It’s also an environmental education center. Six murals depicting 300 years of struggle for social justice surround the site.
Where: Historic Fair Hill, 2901 Germantown Avenue
A crucial part of the Colonial Germantown Historic District, this site attained a National Historic Landmark designation for its role in the Underground Railroad. Tours offer visitors an opportunity to learn about the injustices of slavery and the 19th-century resident Johnson family, who participated in the Underground Railroad and risked their lives offering refuge to freedom seekers. Among the freedom fighters who stayed here: William Still and, according to family lore, Harriet Tubman.
Where: Johnson House Historic Site, 6306 Germantown Avenue
Volunteers at the Kennett Underground Railroad Center offer tours of key sites in the Kennett area, located an hour southwest of Center City Philadelphia. Tours normally run from spring through fall, but visitors should continue to check the organization’s website for the latest scheduling information.
Where: Kennett Underground Railroad Center, 120 N. Union Street, Kennett Square
A statue honoring Underground Railroad conductor Harriet Tubman sits along the Delaware River waterfront in the Bucks County town of Bristol. The statue depicts Tubman pointing in the direction of the North Star.
Where: Harriet Tubman Memorial Statue, 150 Basin Park, Bristol
Located just outside Philadelphia, Bucks County is home to a number of significant sites that were part of the Underground Railroad. Towns like Yardley, Bristol, New Hope and Doylestown feature churches, farms, taverns and more where enslaved people were aided in their journey north, as detailed in this guide from Visit Bucks County.
Where: Various locations including Newtown Theatre, 120 N. State Street, Newtown
The Underground Railroad Freedom Trail continues the 200-mile Harriet Tubman Scenic Byway through southern Chester and Delaware counties. The trail highlights local sites and stories, and places them in historical context in relation to the eradication of slavery in the U.S. and the start of the national civil rights movement.
Where: Various locations including Historic Eden Cemetery, 1434 Springfield Road, Darby
This four-and-a-half-mile self-guided walking tour in Upper Darby (about a 30-minute drive west of Center City Philadelphia) highlights spots where Black people seeking freedom were assisted in their escape from enslavement by several families in the town. The tour includes a stop at Arlington Cemetery, formerly Riverview Farm and Fernland Farm, which is part of the National Park Service’s National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom.
Where: Various locations including Upper Darby Sellers Memorial Free Library, 76 S. State Road
Two Quaker sites in Montgomery County — the Norristown Friends Meeting and the Plymouth Friends Meetinghouse — served as stops on the Underground Railroad, with the former hosting abolitionist Lucretia Mott as a speaker.
Where: Norristown Friends Meeting, 20 Jacoby Street, Norristown
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Plymouth Friends Meetinghouse, 2150 Butler Pike, Plymouth Meeting
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