Philadelphia

Today we spent the day in Philadelphia. This town is so rich in history - you can't even walk 10 steps without something historical having happened on that spot. This town was founded by William Penn and he was a Quaker. The Quakers were very big in the running of the Underground Railroad. We saw several signs about slaves and the UGRR throughout Old Town. We saw the spot where Henry Box Brown arrived when he mailed himself to freedom - it is currently the US Mint.

We found a wonderful service of the Parks Department called "Once Upon a Nation". There are semicircular benches throughout the area around the historic buildings and at each bench there is a story teller. We would go to a bench and hear a story of the UGRR. There are 13 benches in all and we thought only a few had UGRR stories but come to find out they all have UGRR stories just for the asking. We went to about 7 today and will plan to visit the rest tomorrow. The story tellers are college aged kids and they were excellent story tellers. We heard the story of Jane Johnson who walked off a steamboat to freedom with her 2 sons with the help of William Still and Passmore Williamson. We heard the story of Henry Box Brown with some wonderful singing to go along with the story and we also heard the story of a slave of George Washington who also sought freedom in Philadelphia.

Other highlights of the day was seeing the Liberty Bell - named such by abolitionists. We also saw Independence hall where the Slave Trade Act was passed banning US vessels from engaging in slave trade. This was a good thing and a bad thing - no more slaves were brought into this country but the slaves who were here were then much more freely traded and families split apart. We ate a charming pub where George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin used to dine and generally "hang out".

Tomorrow we will finish up hearing the story tellers, visit a African Methodist Episcopal Church and see the UGRR museum at Belmont Mansion. Although Philadelphia is wonderfully historic it is a bit too urban and crowded for our taste. As escaping slaves must have felt, we will be glad to be moving north tomorrow.