Clearfield Farm
Built in the mid-eighteenth century by Captain David Clark, Clearfield Farm was the home of his grandson John Clark (1761-1821), Governor of Delaware from 1817-1820. John Clark served as Colonel in the Delaware Militia and as Justice of the Peace before being elected Governor in 1816. After his term expired, Clark moved into the town […]
Appoquinimink Friends Meeting House
NCC-90: Believed to be one of the smallest Quaker Meeting Houses in the nation, the Appoquinimink Friends Meeting House was built in 1785 by David Wilson and presented to the Friends as a gift. Local tradition identifies this structure as a stop on the Underground Railroad during the years preceding the Civil War. While enroute […]
Camden Friends Meeting (Burial Place of John Hunn)
The first Meeting House on this site was built in 1738. It was replaced in 1748 when a larger building was constructed. The old Meeting House was then converted into a school. Known as Wilmington Friends School, it was relocated to a new facility in 1937, and is the oldest existing school in the state. […]
Gateway to Freedom: The Tilly Escape
In October 1856, famed Underground Railroad conductor Harriet Tubman organized what is considered by Tubman scholars to be “one of her most complicated and clever escape attempts.” Working at the request of a fiancé who had escaped to Canada, Tubman located a slave named Tilly in Baltimore. Believing a steamship voyage to Philadelphia too dangerous […]
Wilmington Friends Meeting – Burial Place of Thomas Garrett
The first Meeting House on this site was built in 1738. It was replaced in 1748 when a larger building was constructed. The old Meeting House was then converted into a school. Known as Wilmington Friends School, it was relocated to a new facility in 1937, and is the oldest existing school in the state. […]
Thomas Garrett: Underground Railroad Stationmaster
Born August 21, 1789, in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, Garrett came to Wilmington in 1822. A prominent merchant, his home and business were located nearby on Shipley Street. Garrett was committed to the anti-slavery efforts of his Quaker faith. He is credited with assisting more than 2,700 of “God’s Poor” to escape slavery through the secret […]
How Old Is Your House?
Did you ever wonder how old is your house? I had a patron come in who had just moved here from another state and bought an old house. It was a two-story house in Camden that was rumored to have been a stop for the underground railroad. They wanted to know the story behind it. […]
