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Underground Railroad

The Violent Decade

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Year of Jubilee (1863)

Thaddeus Stevens and the
Underground Railroad

NPS Network to Freedom Nominations

Randolph J. Harris, of Lancaster, has been doing yeoman's work in the field of Underground Railroad research for quite some time.  His efforts have yielded valuable results in the discovery, recognition, and ultimately the protection of several highly significant sites in Lancaster County.  Those sites include the cistern connected with Thaddeus Stevens' property at 45-47 South Queen Street in Lancaster, believed to have been used as an Underground Railroad refuge, recognition of Zercher's Hotel as the only surviving historical site associated with the Christiana Rebellion, and the Concord-Shreiner Cemetery, final resting place of Thaddeus Stevens (see the letter, below).

Mr. Harris' letter detailing his work with the Concord-Shreiner Cemetery is below.  Although the cemetery was already marked with a state roadside marker, Harris has been successful in having the site recognized and included in the National Park Service's Underground Railroad Network to Freedom, the only nationwide registry and network of sites, programs and research centers about the Underground Railroad.  Inclusion in this program provides significant weight to research linking Stevens with the Underground Railroad.

Greetings, George:

For your info, I have attached PDFs that make up the submission I made to the National Park Service's Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program for Thaddeus Stevens' grave and memorial in Lancaster. I completed this package for Concord-Shreiner Cemetery Foundation in January 2006.

This may be the first time that the known information linking Stevens to Underground RR activity has been compiled, published and submitted to an official body for peer review and possible sanction. The NPS staff review and decision will be made in April 2006.

My narrative includes three elements in support of Stevens' UGRR activism:

1) the 1883 account published in R.C. Smedley's book, 'The Underground Railroad in Chester and Neighboring Counties,' referencing the 1842 harboring incident when 26 freedom seekers were given shelter at Stevens' home/office in Lancaster (note that the site in the Smedley account apparently is not the property now proposed as an interpretive center/educational facility as part of the Downtown Convention Center; research indicates Thaddeus Stevens set up his home and office in 1856 at the properties at 45-47 S. Queen Street.)

2) The January 1847 letter from Stevens to Judge Jeremiah Brown, first published in October, 1883 in the Lancaster Inquirer, then a few days later in the Lancaster Herald & Examiner, and finally in The New York Times, November 3, 1883, acknowledging Stevens' support for the infiltration of a spy into the ranks of slave catchers operating in Lancaster County.

3) The recent archeological dig at the rear of 45-47 South Queen Street, initiated by Historic Preservation Trust of Lancaster County and conducted by Profs. James Delle and Mary Ann Levine, which indicates that a cistern was used to harbor freedom seekers and which was highlighted in Smithsonian Magazine (Feb. 2004). This site is expected to be preserved by Historic Preservation Trust whether or not the proposed Convention Center is approved and built.

Randolph J. Harris
Neighborhood Preservation/
Community Development
233 North Barbara Street
Mount Joy, Pennsylvania 17552

Right: An early advertisement for the law partnership of Stevens and Smyser, in Gettysburg. Source is the Anti-Masonic Star and Republican Banner (Gettysburg), 27 September 1831.

April 2006

Dear Friends:

Good news. The National Park Service has accepted the Thaddeus Stevens grave/memorial into the Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program.

Hinted at for years, the direct role of Stevens as an Underground Railroad operative now has been officially affirmed. The application/nomination compiles the three known elements of his UGRR involvement and a national panel of NPS staff has reviewed and accepted the evidence. Please see the attached application for details on this.

The grave/cemetery will now be featured on the National Park Service UGRR Network website and is now eligible for matching grants up to $25,000.

Please call or write if you have questions.

Take care,

Randolph J. Harris
Neighborhood Preservation/
Community Development
233 North Barbara Street
Mount Joy, Pennsylvania 17552

April 2011

Thaddeus Stevens Home and Office, Lancaster, PA designated authentic site by
National Park Service s Underground Railroad Network to Freedom

Complete details and press release here

List of PDF documents

Application to NPS Network to Freedom
Correspondence with NPS and Cemetery Foundation
Thaddeus Stevens Eulogy Excerpt
Stevens' Grave Site Plan
Stevens' Grave Site, Contemporary Views page 1
Stevens' Grave Site, Contemporary Views page 2
Stevens' Grave Site, Community Activities
1883 News Article

List of MS Word documents

Stevens' Grave Site, Historical Views
Steven's Grave Site, Contemporary Views page 3
Steven's Grave Site, Contemporary Views page 4

The Year of Jubilee

Vol. 1: Men of God and Vol. 2: Men of Muscle

by George Nagle

The Year of Jubilee is the story of Harrisburg'g free African American community, from the era of colonialism and slavery to hard-won freedom.