This flat, open landscape retains much of its character from the mid-19th century. The Cowgills were prominent Delaware Quaker farmers. Family tradition states that Henry Cowgill and his wife assisted freedom seekers by providing them with food, rest and clothing before they moved on. Henry Cowgill passed down a pocket piece issued by the American...
The Wilmington Underground Railroad network included residents with vastly different backgrounds, living in all neighborhoods of the city. The Black agents clustered between the city core and west to Quaker Hill, as well as the East Side of the city. Born of a West Indian father and an Irish or English mother in about 1800,...
One of the most important figures working on the Underground Railroad in Delaware was Thomas Garrett (1789-1871), a prominent Wilmington Quaker who devoted his life to the abolition of slavery and to helping all freedom seekers who sought his aid. His home and business at 227 Shipley Street was an important destination for seeking food,...
When Old Town Hall opened in 1799 as the seat of government for Wilmington, Delaware, captured freedom seekers were held in the basement cells during the same period that the Abolition Society was allowed to meet in the building free of charge. Unfortunately, no known sources tell us whether African Americans were involved in the...
