Aboard their monthly bus tour on June 16, the Kennett Underground Railroad Center (KURC) revealed stories of struggle and liberation that featured five stops at historic landmarks that in acknowledgement of the Juneteenth celebration, focused on the underground railroad and the abolition movements.

Celebrating the significant history of each and their proximity to the Mason-Dixon Line and the Quaker community, the KURC aims to “preserve and celebrate” the heritage of both.  

Led by KURC President, Crystal Crampton, the immersive and historical experience began at the Brandywine Valley Tourism and Information Center, a building dating back to 1855 that once served as the Longwood Progressive Friends Meetinghouse, which was formed by “radical” Quakers who wanted to do more for abolition than the traditional Quaker church. Throughout its rich history, it hosted renowned speakers and activists such as Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth and Lucretia Mott.

A short ride later, the tour arrived at the site of the Cox house on Route 1. Built in the 1790s, the home belonged to Quakers John and Hannah Cox who used it as a safe house, hiding freedom seekers on their journey along the Underground Railroad. The Cox family was and remains important to the Kennett area, as they provided the land that the Longwood Progressive Friends Meetinghouse was built on. 

Additionally, the Cox family operated a farm they called Longwood, which is where Longwood Gardens gets its name. The house is now owned by Longwood Gardens and has no immediate plans to open to the public.

Stops on the bus tour also included the Bartholomew Fussell house and the site of the former James Walker house. Fussell was a physician and educator who provided his home as a stop on the Underground Railroad.

During the tour, a guide told those aboard about the story that took place at the James Walker home in front of the Kennett Library. The story goes that Walker opened his home to an injured enslaved man on his journey to freedom. Kennett doctor, Isaac Johnson treated the man’s injury with nursing from Esther Hayes, while staying in the Walker home. The man eventually continued his journey to freedom before returning several years after the Civil War to visit Dr. Johnson and revealed that he had taken the name Johnson Hayes Walker after the three Kennett individuals who saved his life.

Stories and legacies such as Walker’s, the Cox’s and all the other famous abolitionists who visited and operated in the area are all crucial to the telling of local history; however, Crampton said while the tour stopped at the New Garden Memorial U.A.M.E. Church that the local individuals who built the community and carry on the legacy of these historical figures deserve their recognition as well and credited the church as doing so.

Crampton is a member of the church and reflected on its significance and history in the area which includes the Bucktoe Cemetery which was as a stop Harriet Tubman used on her journeys on the Underground Railroad. Crampton has been one of several residents who have taken care of the cemetery for 38 years.

The tour concluded at the Marlborough Friends Meetinghouse where knowledge of the Quaker faith and practices was reflected upon.

“There are a couple of lessons we learned from this Underground Railroad tour,” tour guide Linda Steelman concluded. “You stand up for what is right and its risky, and sometimes it is violent, but you have to follow your heart and your voice has to be heard, and you can make a difference.”

The tour was just one of many local events happening throughout June in the Kennett Square area and surrounding region to celebrate the Juneteenth holiday, that celebrates the day on June 19, 1865, when Union troops finally reached Galveston Bay, Texas to inform enslaved people of their freedom – over two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was effective. Juneteenth was made a federal holiday in 2021 but has been celebrated by Black communities for much longer.

KURC offers once a month public bus tours from March-October as well as private bus tours which can be arranged by visiting their website at www.kennettundergroundrr.org.

For complete information about Juneteenth events offered this month, visit www.culturechesco.org/juneteenth.