Fitzwater Station was a stop on the anti-
slavery
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. ...
. Located in
Port Providence,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, United States, it is now a restaurant and bar. "The Fitz" overlooks the
Schuylkill Canal.
History
The owner and operator of Fitzwater Farm in Upper Providence Township during the mid-1800s, Abel Fitzwater was a descendant of Thomas Fitzwater, who emigrated from England in 1682,
sailing aboard the Welcome with
William Penn
William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...
. Residing with his uncle from the time of his mother's death until 1825 when he (Abel Fitzwater) married Isabella Umstead, the younger Fitzwater subsequently purchased the tract of land that would later be known as "Fitzwater Farm."
In 1839, Abel Fitzwater became a local hero when he rescued area residents during a major flood which devastated Lumberville (now Port Providence) in January of that year. After residents rebuilt their lives, their community thrived, largely due to the connection of key spots along the
Schuylkill River
The Schuylkill River ( , ) is a river running northwest to southeast in eastern Pennsylvania. The river was improved by navigations into the Schuylkill Canal, and several of its tributaries drain major parts of Pennsylvania's Coal Region. It f ...
with the
Schuylkill Canal, which facilitated regular transports of coal.
The farm passed to Fitzwater's son, Joseph, shortly thereafter when Abel Fitzwater fell ill and died in 1840 due to the exposure he suffered during his frigid water rescues. The proprietor of a hardware store in Phoenixville and president of the Phoenix Bridge Co., Joseph Fitzwater also served on the board of directors of the National Bank of Phoenixville.
Involvement in the Underground Railroad
According to William Kostlevy, an archivist for the
Church of the Brethren
The Church of the Brethren is an Anabaptist Christian denomination in the Schwarzenau Brethren (german: link=no, Schwarzenauer Neutäufer "Schwarzenau New Baptists") tradition that was organized in 1708 by Alexander Mack in Schwarzenau, Germ ...
and director of Philadelphia's Brethren Historical Library and Archives, Abel Fitzwater and his wife, Isabel (Umstad) Fitzwater (1805-1879) were active members of the Church of the Brethren, which was known for its anti-slavery stance during the early to mid-1800s. Founders of that church's Green Tree congregation and active in the
Temperance Movement
The temperance movement is a social movement promoting temperance or complete abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and its leaders emph ...
, they volunteered the use of their farm to others who were helping men, women and children to escape slavery. Conveniently located near major transit hubs, including the Schuylkill Canal and Schuylkill River, the Fitzwater's farm soon became known as "Fitzwater Station," one of the
spots along the Underground Railroad where the formerly enslaved could hide, rest and receive food until moving on to the next safe haven on their long journeys north.
The Underground Railroad: What Was the Brethren Connection?
, in ''Living Parables: Church of the Brethren Annual Conference Journal'', July 7, 2018, p. 2. Elgin, Illinois: Church of the Brethren, retrieved online October 7, 2019.
Location
The Fitzwater Station is located at .
References
{{reflist
External links
Website of the Fitzwater Station
Underground Railroad locations