The Kennett Underground Railroad Center has found a permanent home, and a very appropriate one: the former house of Dr. Isaac Johnson at 120 North Union Street in downtown Kennett Square. Dr. Johnson treated an escaping slave who had badly injured his foot when he jumped off a train to flee from his pursuers. The man was nursed back to health by nurse Esther Hayes and recuperated in a house owned by James Walker at 233 South Union Street. He returned to Kennett years later, and had named himself Johnson Hayes Walker in their honor.
"Now we have a place where we can share all we know about the Underground Railroad operatives and activities in the Kennett area," the Underground Railroad Center's board of directors wrote in the group's annual fundraising letter. Their goals for 2020 are to install "a museum-quality display" in their new facility, expand their tours and presentations, do outreach to students and offer a scholarship at Kennett High School.
The house sits at the corner of Union and West Linden Streets, across from the parking garage.
No comments:
Post a Comment