41. Corbit-Sharp House

A Place of Refuge

Slavery in Delaware was truly a “peculiar institution.” The population struggled between powerful slave interests and defiant anti-slavery groups. Despite lobbying attempts by religious leaders, abolitionists and ordinary citizens to end slavery in the state, Delaware remained firmly proslavery. The town of Odessa stood at a crossroads both culturally and geographically. Odessa’s Quaker, abolitionist, and free black communities offered secret help on a heavily traveled Underground Railroad route.

The Historic Odessa Foundation’s exhibit, “Freedom Seekers: The Odessa Story” highlights the role these groups played in helping slaves escape, including Sam, a fugitive slave who approached the Corbit-Sharp House for help in the 1840s. The Corbit-Sharp House, c. 1772, was the home of Quaker abolitionists, Daniel and Mary Corbit. He was hidden cleverly by Mary Corbit, and a sheriff’s posse failed to discover him. At dusk, Daniel Corbit provided food and money and sent him north.

Through the Historic Odessa Foundation, you can tour the Corbit-Sharp House c. 1772, Wilson-Warner House c. 1769 and Collins-Sharp House c. 1770. Special interactive programs explore 18th- and 19th century domestic life, economics, crafts and politics. Changing exhibits, lectures, and holiday programs create a vibrant atmosphere.

42. New Castle Court House Museum

On Trial

Delaware’s most prominent abolitionists and Underground Railroad stationmasters, Thomas Garrett and John Hunn, were tried and convicted here for aiding the successful 1845 escape of the Hawkins family from slavery in Maryland. Found guilty of violating the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793, Garrett and Hunn were fined thousands of dollars and faced financial ruin. The proslavery judge, Roger B. Taney, Chief Justice of the United States, presided over the trial. He would later deliver the controversial opinion in the Dred Scott case of 1857, denying African Americans citizenship. At the close of the trial in 1848, Garrett defiantly told the crowded courtroom, “if anyone knows a fugitive who wants a shelter, and a friend, send him to Thomas Garrett.”

The conviction did not stop Garrett’s activities. He continued to assist fugitives until the beginning of the Civil War.

In 1856, famed conductor and Garrett friend, Harriet Tubman, spent time in New Castle as she attempted to find aid in Wilmington for her group of freedom seekers. She lodged them in a “potato hole” for safety, at the home of an African-American friend somewhere in New Castle. Tubman’s story was recorded by Sydney H. Gay, as she passed through New York City toward the end of this particular mission.

The New Castle Court House Museum is one of the oldest courthouses (1732) in the United States and was designated a National Park Service Network to Freedom site, due to the Garrett trial. Built in 1732, the New Castle Court House was the Delaware State’s seat of government until the capitol was moved to Dover in 1777.

43. Tubman-Garrett Riverfront Park

‘Unwavering Courage in the Pursuit of Freedom’

The park honors two of Delaware’s most dedicated agents of the Underground Railroad, Harriet Tubman and Thomas Garrett. Born a Quaker in Pennsylvania in 1789, Garrett helped an estimated 2,700 enslaved people escape to freedom over four decades.

By the time Harriet Tubman escaped slavery in 1849, Garrett had been exposed as an Underground Railroad agent when he was caught helping the Hawkins family escape in 1845. Though financially ruined, he continued to help freedom seekers. Garrett’s surviving correspondence reveals how he and Tubman collaborated on numerous occasions during the 1850s.

The park overlooks the Market Street crossing of the Christina River, the main southern entry into Wilmington during the 19th century. Tubman and her charges were once trapped on the south side of the river by the constables and slave catchers on the lookout for them. Garrett sent a false-bottomed wagon, driven by African-American bricklayers, who concealed the group beneath a load of bricks. They successfully passed over the bridge and by authorities unnoticed.

The park’s sculpture shown here, “Unwavering Courage in the Pursuit of Freedom,” was installed in Tubman Garrett Park in 2012. The dynamic work is full of symbolism and invites contemplation. Credit: Chiodo Art

44. Center for African American Heritage at the Delaware History Museum

Journey to Freedom

The Wilmington campus of the Delaware Historical Society features the stories of the Underground Railroad in two main locations, Old Town Hall and the Mitchell Center for African American Heritage. The Mitchell Center offers an exhibition, “Journey to Freedom,” featuring the stories of the Underground Railroad in Delaware, including freedom seekers and conductors like Harriet Tubman, Quaker abolitionists like Thomas Garrett, and courageous African Americans who risked their lives to help others to freedom.

The Center presents the story of African Americans’ struggle for human rights and dignity in Delaware and the nation. Two thematic sections, “Slavery in Delaware and the Struggle for Freedom” and “Beyond Bondage—Breaking Down Barriers,” introduce key Delaware figures and experiences, from the founding of African Methodist churches to the Brown v. Board of Education decision and beyond.

Abolitionists’ meetings were once briefly held at the Old Town Hall. The Town Hall’s jail cells were used to confine captured freedom seekers before they were returned to their enslavers. Tours are available. The Delaware Historical Society, a National Park Service Network to Freedom facility, has restored and preserved these historic buildings, allowing them to host educational programming where visitors can further explore the Underground Railroad.

45. Independence Hall

Important Decisions

Within Independence National Historical Park, several buildings all located on Independence Square have ties to the Underground Railroad. Important decisions about slavery and freedom, which charted the future of this nation, transpired at Independence Hall, Congress Hall and Old City Hall. The Square was the gathering place for abolition activities and the location for speeches made by abolitionist Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln.

At Independence Hall, the Declaration of Independence was signed, promising freedom. The U.S. Constitution was drafted, which regulated slavery as part of a series of compromises enacted by the Constitutional Convention of 1787. The resulting constitution included the three-fifths clause, which declared that for purposes of representation in Congress, enslaved blacks would be counted as three-fifths of the number of white inhabitants of that state. Other clauses prohibited slavery in the Northwest Territories and ended U.S. participation in the international slave trade in 1807.

These compromises reflected Virginia Constitutional Convention delegate (and future U.S. President) James Madison’s observation that “…the States were divided into different interests not by their…size…but principally from their having or not having slaves.” While all northern states initially allowed slavery, most enacted gradual emancipation laws around the time of the American Revolution.

Also at Independence Hall, U.S. District Court trials were held concerning the 1851 Christiana riots and other fugitive cases.

In Congress Hall, the U.S. Congress passed the 1793 Fugitive Slave Act, which guaranteed the right of a slaveholder to recover an escaped slave and provided a mechanism by which that could be accomplished. Here, Congress also heard anti-slavery petitions. In Old City Hall, two mayors publicly demonstrated their support of the anti-slavery movement.

Independence Hall is a World Heritage site. The National Park Service provides tours and programs on site. Get information and begin your tour at the Independence Visitor Center located on Independence Mall on Market Street.

Photo by J. Fusco for VISIT PHILADELPHIA®

46. William Still’s Last Residence

William Still’s Secret Journal

Pennsylvania became a haven for freedom seekers. Slavery was abolished in this state in 1780. While some self-liberators made their way north with little or no help, Harriet Tubman and other freedom seekers trekked from Wilmington, Delaware to connect with free black and Quaker communities in Chester and Delaware counties in southeast Pennsylvania. These people helped Tubman and others find their way to Philadelphia, where William Still of the Philadelphia Vigilance Committee provided shelter, food, clothing, transportation and money for passage north.

Still kept records in a journal about those he assisted, including their names, where they came from, condition, and methods of escape. Keeping these records was risky, but they helped separated family members locate one another. Still’s secret journal was published as The Underground Railroad in 1872.

When Tubman made her own escape to freedom in 1849, she settled in Philadelphia and worked as a domestic to earn money to support herself and her rescue missions. William Still supported her and documented her efforts to return to her homeland in Maryland to retrieve loved ones.

NOTE: This home is privately owned. An historic marker in front of the home briefly tells his story. Parking on this side street can be difficult to find. Do not block parked cars. It is best to walk the one mile from Independence Hall.