Join Linda Shockley, president of the Lawnside Historical Society, as she shares the history of Lawnside, New Jersey—the state’s only incorporated African American municipality. The mission of the Historical Society is to promote and preserve the heritage of Lawnside, including its Peter Mott House. As the oldest dwelling in the borough, it was built around 1845 and was the home of Reverend Peter Mott, a “stationmaster” on the Underground Railroad. The former residence now serves as an Underground Railroad museum. The presentation includes details from several research projects and the borough’s development from a 19th century settlement by free born, manumitted, and self-liberated peoples, to the present, as its 100th anniversary of incorporation approaches. The program is free for Rancocas Nature Center members; $10/per person donation is suggested for nonmembers.

Join Linda Shockley, president of the Lawnside Historical Society, as she shares the history of Lawnside, New Jersey—the state’s only incorporated African American municipality. The mission of the Historical Society is to promote and preserve the heritage of Lawnside, including its Peter Mott House. As the oldest dwelling in the borough, it was built around 1845 and was the home of Reverend Peter Mott, a “stationmaster” on the Underground Railroad. The former residence now serves as an Underground Railroad museum. The presentation includes details from several research projects and the borough’s development from a 19th century settlement by free born, manumitted, and self-liberated peoples, to the present, as its 100th anniversary of incorporation approaches. The program is free for Rancocas Nature Center members; $10/per person donation is suggested for nonmembers.