Chester County’s Underground Railroad remembered

Kennett Historical Commission details township, county role in leading slaves to freedom By Jacqueline Kennedy, Correspondent, The Times A map of some of the sites where Chester County residents housed newly-free slaves before and during the Civil War. KENNETT — The Kennett Township Historical Commission held its annual meeting earlier this month that featured a presentation titled “Follow...

For ex-slaves in the 1800s, Chester County was home

Swarthmore library curator delivers lecture on Underground Railroad By Kyle Carrozza, Staff Writer, The Times Christopher Densmore educates the audience at the National Steel and Iron Heritage Museum. COATESVILLE – In a country largely built by the unpaid forced labor of those who Moses Coates called “dark-skinned brethren,” Chester County became the home of many slaves who escaped the terrible...

Longwood Meeting honored for role in Underground Railroad

Now a Chester County visitors center, the Longwood Progressive Friends Meetinghouse, has been recognized by the National Park Service as a significant historic site. EAST MARLBOROUGH — The Kennett Underground Railroad Center (KURC) iannounced this week that the National Park Service (NPS) recently recognized the Longwood Progressive Meetinghouse and Longwood Cemetery as a significant historic site...

Quilters put history on cutting edge

Tourism center’s new creation spotlights Underground Railroad By Kathleen Brady Shea, Managing Editor, The Times The centerpiece of a new quilt for the Chester County Conference and Visitors Bureau was inspired by a historic photograph of what was once the Longwood Progressive Meeting, a hub for abolitionists. Commissioned a year ago to create a quilt with an Underground Railroad theme, a scrappy...

High school to host two community programs

One involves ‘Queen of Water’ author, the other,  Lincoln The Queen of Water co-author   Laura Resau will visit Unionville High Wednesday for an evening of  conversation. Two free events this week at Unionville High will provide area residents with options for  educational entertainment. The  “One Book One Unionville” initiative will culminate with an author event and book-signing....

Celebrated county mural continues to fascinate

Intrigue deepens at meeting with artist’s son, judge who championed its preservation By Kathleen Brady Shea, Managing Editor, The Times Chester County Court Judge Thomas G. Gavin discusses what little information is known about the 1956 mural by Edward Shenton. Behind him is the model painting that differs in numerous small ways from the finished product, now on the wall in Courtroom Two of the...

Invitation extended to celebrate Black History Month

The Chester County Historical Society is inviting residents to celebrate Black History Month by visiting its exhibits, several of which highlight the county’s African American community. CCHS exhibits offer insight into local African Americans’ past The Chester County Historical Society (CCHS) would like to invite residents to celebrate Black History Month by visiting its present exhibits,...

Longwood volunteers create piece de resistance

Series of quilts chronicle garden’s beauty – from flowers to felines By Kathleen Brady Shea, Managing Editor, The Times Ann Randolph (left) and Nancy Hiss stand in front of the group’s “Seasons of Pollination” quilt. The goal was grand: Capture the colors of Longwood Gardens in a quilt. First suggested in 1996, the project failed to leave the drawing board more than once. But that was before...

Kennett Underground Railroad Center chugs along

Organization offers Heritage tours, plans to open museum in Pocopson By Eddy K. Foster, Staff Writer, UnionvilleTimes.com The Barnard House in Pocopson should become the new home of the Kennett Underground Railroad Museum — if township officials can work out financing to pay for the project, which would also move the township offices to the building. KENNETT — A century and a half ago, the Kennett...