Join Fairmount Park Conservancy and UGR3DAY Underground Railroad Experiences, Inc. on Saturday, October 5 from 10:00 AM–2:00 PM for a 3.5-mile Underground Railroad history hike and talk in West Fairmount Park.

On his 203rd birthday, we honor the “Father of the Underground Railroad”, William Still (born October 7, 1821), and all those freedom seekers who traversed the lands of present-day Fairmount Park. Join us for a hike through West Fairmount Park in the morning followed by a community conversation in the afternoon.

The 3.5-mile loop hike will visit places of historical significance, some with connections to the Underground Railroad. Stops include Ridgeland Mansion (c. 1762), Boelsen Cottage (c. 1684), Belmont Mansion (c. 1742), and physical remnants of the Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad, which was a means of clandestine conveyance for freedom seekers in the mid-19th century.

The hike will begin at the sheep barn, located near Ridgeland Mansion, at 10:00 AM and will return there for a lunchtime discussion. The hike will feature immersive experiences led by historic storyteller and “Conductor” Dee Patterson of UGR3DAY Underground Railroad Experiences Inc. and Gilletta “Gigi” McGraw, portraying free Black woman Cornelia Wells.

We will return to the sheep barn at the end of the hike and from 1:00–2:00 PM, there will be a panel discussion and community conversation that participants are invited to stay for (optional). Panel will consist of Gigi McGraw, Amy Cohen, and Joe Becton (bios below).

Preview of the hike route HERE. The 3.5-mile hike will take a little less than three hours to complete with multiple stops along the way.

TICKET PRICE: Free, donations appreciated

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SCHEDULE

10:00 AM-12:45 PM: Guided hike
1:00-2:00 PM: Lunch** + community conversation (optional)

**Participants are welcome to stay for the community conversation after the hike. There will be some snacks and light refreshments available during this portion and you are welcome to bring your own bagged lunch. (Please note, if bringing a bagged lunch, we suggest bringing something that does not need to be refrigerated or heated up. There will be a place to store lunches during the hike.) We also suggest bringing a blanket and/or lawn chair for this portion (can be kept at the sheep barn during the hike).

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO:
-The hike is roughly 3.5 miles in length, with a combination of open parkland and hilly trails. It will take a little less than three hours to complete.
-Appropriate for adults and families with children ages 10 and up. Minors must be registered and accompanied by an adult.tic
-Please dress according to weather conditions and wear good hiking shoes (boots/sneakers).
-Please bring your own water and snacks (drinking water is not available in the park).
-There are bathrooms at the start/end of the hike and a couple of porta-potties available along the hike route.
-Bring sunscreen and bug spray.
-If staying for the community conversation, we suggest bringing a blanket and/or lawn chair (can be kept at the sheep barn during the hike). There will be limited seating available

PARKING/GETTING THERE: There is a parking lot next to the sheep barn where participants can park. When you turn into the driveway for Ridgeland Mansion, please follow the ‘William Still Walk’ directional signage to the lot. As always, NEVER leave valuables in your car! There is additional overflow parking at the Chamounix Drive parking lot across the street. If using this lot, please enter from the entrance across from the Ridgeland and a staff person will direct you on where to park. If traveling by public transit, the nearest stop is at Ford and Cranston Road (a one-mile walk from the start). The nearest Indego bike station is at MLK Drive and Strawberry Mansion Bridge (about one mile away).

INCLEMENT WEATHER POLICY: This event will take place in light rain. In the event of heavy rain or other severe conditions, the event will be canceled and attendees will be notified and eligible for a full refund if applicable.

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PANELIST BIOS:

-AMY COHEN spent twenty years as a middle and high school social studies teacher. In 2013, she became the Director of Education at the film company History Making Productions, where she developed educational materials to accompany documentaries, mostly about the history of Philadelphia. Amy produced Octavius V. Catto: A Legacy for the 21st Century which won a Mid-Atlantic Emmy Award for Historic/Cultural Program Feature. Amy is a frequent contributor to Hidden City, an online magazine about Philadelphia’s history and the built environment. Her first book Black History in the Philadelphia Landscape: Deep Roots, Continuing Legacy was published by Temple University Press in 2024.

-GIGI MCGRAW is a social practice artist, actress, writer, and tour guide who coined the term PhilHERstorian to describe her invested interest in the cultural and historical preservation of Philadelphia. Gigi earned her Master’s Degree in theater from Villanova University and is fascinated with the life stories of individuals. She is inspired by significant sociohistorical undertakings such as the Federal Writers’ Project of the 1930’s, which recorded the narratives of the formerly enslaved. Gigi's platform for sharing history and unearthing forgotten local traditions is through the expressive arts and public presentations. Gigi uses performance, written and recorded testimony, exhibits, and collaborations, both locally and abroad to share history.

-JOE BECTON earned Associate Degrees, in Social Science at the Reading Area Community College in 1977, and Bachelors in History at the University of West Florida in 1980. He studied slavery at Yale University with David Brion Davis in the summer of 1999. In 1985, his research lead to the development of the Delta Sigma Thea’s Patriots of African Descent Monument at Valley Forge (1993). He has published articles in the Gloucester County Historical Quarterly (June and September 1994): “African Soldiers of Rhode Island at the Battle of Fort Mercer October 22,1777”, the Council of American Revolutionary Sites Publication (1997): “The Black Regiment and the Defense of Philadelphia", the African American National Biography Harvard Book “Windsor Fry” (2008). He helped plan and develop the” Oh Freedom” portable exhibit for the State of New Jersey (2007). He has been a Director of Visitor Services at Historic Fort Mifflin (1989-1992), retired as a Supervisory Park Ranger at Independence National Historical Park (2001-2009), and was awarded Network to Freedom Star Award National Park Service. He renamed a section of 6th Street "Avenue of Freedom” (February 2019). He is a certified Master Tour Guide for the Association of Philadelphia Tour Guides (2016). He created his own company Becton Tours and Historical Services. He is a teacher, philosopher, counselor, historian, musician, interpreter, tour guide, husband, father, and grandfather.

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QUESTIONS? Please reach out to [email protected]

Enjoy our programs? Become a Supporter of Fairmount Park Conservancy to help ensure that Philadelphia’s parks are enhanced for generations to come! Supporters enjoy special benefits like early registration access for events and our Park Perk Pass, which offers discounts and benefits throughout Philadelphia.

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MORE ABOUT WILLIAM STILL: William Still (1821-1902) is one of the Underground Railroad's most important yet largely unheralded individuals. Still was chairman of the Vigilance Committee of the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society who risked his life shepherding people to freedom via a complex network of abolitionists, sympathizers, and safe houses that stretched from Philadelphia north to Canada. Over the course of fourteen years, he helped nearly a thousand enslaved Africans escape bondage, which is why he’s considered the “Father of the Underground Railroad.”

In 1872, Still published the Underground Railroad, sourced from the secret notes and meticulous records of the many freedom seekers who passed through the Philadelphia "station.” The book is the only first-person account of the Underground Railroad written and self-published by an African-American. It was also the only African-American achievement exhibited at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in West Fairmount Park. To this day, the book contains some of the best evidence we have of the workings of the Underground Railroad, detailing the freedom seekers who used it, including where they came from, how they escaped, and the families they left behind.

MORE ABOUT THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD’S CONNECTION TO PRESENT-DAY FAIRMOUNT PARK: Freedom seekers on the Underground Railroad traveled by foot, by wagon, by boat, and by train, including the Philadelphia & Columbia Railroad, an actual above-ground railroad that passed through present-day Fairmount Park. William Still coordinated with William Whipper and Stephen Smith, African-American businessmen who regularly shipped lumber from Columbia to Philadelphia. They built special boxcars with false ends to conceal freedom seekers on freight cars of trains that carried both cargo and passengers. In 2013, the National Park Service designated the Philadelphia & Columbia Railroad (now part of Amtrak's Keystone Corridor) as an official site on the "National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom." This railroad traversed the Belmont Plateau via an "inclined plane" and continued over the Schuylkill on the Columbia Bridge, terminating at Broad & Vine Streets. Some historians contend that when the city-bound trains came to a stop to be pulled down the inclined plane, this was the time and place for freedom seekers to furtively escape into the woods and farmlands of the Belmont Plateau before the Vine St. Depot, where bounty hunters awaited.