FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Franklin County Visitors Bureau, Janet Pollard
717-709-7204 or 717-261-3811
Franklin County Wins National Park Service Approval for Two Sites
In early September, the National Park Service (NPS) granted approval for two historic sites in Franklin County to be added to its Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program. This program provides the official designation of the federal government that a site, program or facility is authentic in its association with the history of the Underground Railroad.
The two Franklin County sites added to the Network to Freedom Program are the Mary Ritner/John Brown House and the Thaddeus Stevens Iron Furnace Complex at Caledonia State Park. John Brown stayed at Mary Ritner’s boarding house at 225 East King Street in Chambersburg between June and October 1859, as he prepared his unsuccessful raid on the Federal arsenal at Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia. The Thaddeus Stevens Iron Furnace at Caledonia was burned by Confederate troops helmed by General Jubal Early on June 26, 1863. The iron works purchased by Stevens in the 1830s, became the largest employer of African American workers during the period, as runaway slaves and free blacks in the area sought work and refuge there. An entrepreneur, educator, and politician, Stevens was one of the most outspoken abolitionists of his day.
The inclusion of the two Franklin County sites in The NPS Network to Freedom Program comes on the heals of efforts of the Franklin County Underground Railroad Coalition to uncover and promote the county’s Underground Railroad history. The coalition consists of nearly thirty people knowledgeable about local history and national history. Organized by the Franklin County Visitor’s Bureau in June 2007, the coalition engaged Randolph Harris of Lancaster to do research and submit applications to NPS.
To craft a successful NPS application for the Network to Freedom program, detailed and accurate documentation had to be acquired and submitted. NPS looks for scholarly publications and primary source material such as letters, diaries, autobiographies, and official records. Ross L. Hetrick, president of the Thaddeus Stevens Society, said of the NPS recognition of the iron works, “The inclusion would bring more attention to the site, which illustrates the significant contributions Stevens made to social economic and civil rights advancements for African Americans, since they were a large part of his workforce.”
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania recently included Chambersburg in its Quest for Freedom website and trail guide. Quest for Freedom highlights destinations and sites throughout central Pennsylvania and Philadelphia. To explore a freedom journey, access www.questforfreedom.org and download the Quest for Freedom Trail Guide. Franklin County organized and staged a very successful county-wide Underground Railroad tour in September. The tour featured noted local historians and researchers, and made stops in Mercersburg, Chambersburg, Greencastle, and Mont Alto.
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