Race-based slavery has become a normal practice by the early 1700’s. It is justified because Africans are viewed as “barbaric and heathens,” making them eligible for slavery. Quakers, known for their peaceful practices, continue to own slaves through the colonial period, reasoning it with the explanation that as long as they treat their slaves fairly and without violence, it will coincide with the guidelines of the Quaker practice. At the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting in 1776, the practice is ruled against, banning members from holding people in bondage. If any member disobeys this new ruling, they will be excluded from the Society of Friends.

These ruins are all that remain of a small village based on manual labor. They appear on maps as early as 1864. The map shows a thriving self-contained community. There are mills and stores. I can’t help but fantasize about what this community would have looked like on a daily basis. Many houses appear on the map. Some of the homes that appear on this map are recorded as those of Joseph Smith (1805-1844), Dr. Joseph S. Walton (1855–1912), Moses Harvey (1813–1888), John Harris (1727-1791), and John McPherson (1740–1827), just to name a few.

Randolph Harris is a local historian and the owner and founder of Origins of the Underground Railroad in PA, conducting tours through the city of Lancaster. He believes that this may have been the African Church in the community. According to Harris, this community is out as late as the 1920s, with most manual labor being replaced by machinery. What was left of this African community will be driven out by the re-emergence of the Ku Klux Klan. Remaining in this area will make them vulnerable to becoming victims of their acts of race-based terrorism. These few stone structures stand as a secret reminder to those who show interest in looking into their past.
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Information on Randolph Harris’s Underground Railroad Tours can be found at:
http://undergroundrroriginspa.org/