Abolition Hall backers won't let historic site get railroaded
A proposed plan to build town homes on the Abolition Hall Underground Railroad site would harm the historic property, activists said at a Whitemarsh Township Board of Supervisors meeting last week.
Supporters of The Friends of Abolition Hall and Philadelphia’s Avenging the Ancestors Coalition overflowed from a room into the hallway at the Township Hall on Thursday as they voiced their concerns and opposition to the plan in the suburban community northwest of Philadelphia.
The project calls for 67 town homes on 10 acres of land, with eight acres containing Abolition Hall, an Underground Railroad stop, and fields where slaves hid from slave catchers.
“There’s a huge continuum between active demolition and fully preserving the property and [developers] have both said in the hearing and in written documents that they are fully preserving the historic structures, which we believe is pretty far from the truth,” said Sydelle Zove, Friends of Abolition Hall convener.
Read more: http://www.phillytrib.com/news/abolition-hall-backers-won-t-let-historic-site-get-railroaded/article_1b4a4003-e41d-53ab-bb8c-9e9233abc665.html