Freedom’s Backyard: Three Centuries of History & Preservation in old German Township

Historic Germantown is a diverse consortium of 19 historic sites, museums and green spaces located in America’s longest national historic district.  Germantown boasts many distinctions, such as being home to America’s first papermill, its oldest Mennonite congregation, and the site of the first written protest against slavery.  It featured prominently in the struggle for freedom and equality, as a place where abolitionist leaders organized and assisted runaway slaves through the Underground Railroad, and again in the 20th century, when events like Negro Achievement Week brought the Harlem Renaissance to Germantown. Germantown has long been home to prominent thinkers and scientists, and nationally renowned artists like Charles Wilson Peale, Louisa May Alcott, Margeurite de Angeli, Benton Spruance and Sun Ra.  This talk will expose three centuries of Germantown history, highlighting some of the extraordinary stories and events that unfolded in this unique community, as well as the work being done to preserve and share these stories today.

 

 

Presenter

 

Dennis S. Pickeral is the Executive Director of Stenton, a National Historic Landmark and historic house museum located in the Logan neighborhood of Philadelphia, administered by the National Society of The Colonial Dames in Pennsylvania since 1899.  Dennis holds a B.A. in History from Virginia Commonwealth University and an M.A. in American Studies from Penn State University and is an alumnus of the Attingham Summer School Program for the study of the English Country House.

 

For seven years, Dennis served as the President of Historic Germantown, leading efforts to build a consortium of 18 extraordinary historic sites and museums in northwest Philadelphia, home to 

America’s longest National Historic District.  During his tenure, Historic Germantown hired its first executive director, merged with the Germantown Historical Society and undertook major collaborative projects that brought the member sites together through national award-winning programming, marketing and community engagement.  He continues to serve on the Historic Germantown Committee.