The renovations at Dr. James Still’s office on Church Road, a structure built in 1855 and purchased by the state in 2006. Visitors can stop at the nearby James Still Center on Sunday for an Underground Railroad event.
Visitors can learn about the powerful stories of the Underground Railroad in a virtual setting.
The Lawnside Historical Society and the Dr. James Still Historic Office and Education Center are uniting to present the Underground Railroad Experience this weekend at the Peter Mott House in Lawnside and the Still Center in Medford.
Game lovers can head to the Mott House, 26 Kings Court in Lawnside, and work together helping freedom seekers escape enslavement in “Freedom: The Underground Railroad” board game on Saturday from noon to 3 p.m. Visitors of all ages can join in to help the abolitionists in the kitchen.
In the parlor, visitors can try out virtual reality “Escape to Freedom,” where players can use a controller to guide a family of four on the courageous escape to the Snow Hill home of Peter and Elizabeth Ann Mott. The Mott house is a museum and renovated station along the Underground Railroad, the clandestine network to freedom for fugitives in the 19th century.
The Lawnside Historical Society was founded and formed to protect the legacy of the Motts and their home as part of the Underground Railroad network. On Sunday, from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., visitors can head to the James Still Center at 210 Medford-Mount Holly Road in Medford for a live performance with historical actor Barry Moore as Henry Box Brown, who shipped himself to freedom in Philadelphia from Richmond, Virginia.
The Freedom board game, the “Escape to Freedom” and Moore’s dramatic reading will round out the afternoon.
The Dr. James Still Historic Office Site Association members – made up of a few direct Still family descendants – are dedicated to teaching, restoring and preserving the legacy of the doctor. They are led by Samuel C. Still III, second great-grandnephew of Dr. Still.
The association is working with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to plan the restoration of Still’s 1855 medical office.
For more information, visit petermotthouse.org and www.drjamesstillcenter.org/index.html.
