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Hovenden House, Barn and Abolition Hall is a group of historic buildings in Plymouth Meeting, Whitemarsh Township,
Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Montgomery County is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the List of counties in Pennsylvania, third-most populous county in Pennsylvania and the List of the most populous cou ...
. In the decades prior to the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...
, the property served as an important station on the
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. ...
. Abolition Hall was built to be a meeting place for
abolitionists Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The Britis ...
, and later was the studio of artist Thomas Hovenden. The house is located at the northeast corner of Germantown and Butler Pikes, diagonally opposite the Plymouth Friends Meetinghouse. Northeast of the house is the stone barn, and attached to the barn's northeast corner is the 2-story carriage house known as Abolition Hall. The three buildings are part of a 10.45-acre farm, and are contributing properties in the Plymouth Meeting Historic District. ''Note:'' This includes The property is threatened by a 2016 proposal to reroute Butler Pike between the Hovenden House and its barn. Preservation Pennsylvania added the property to its ''2017 Pennsylvania At Risk'' list.Press release
"''2017 Pennsylvania At Risk'' Announced" (PDF)
''Preservation Pennsylvania'', Harrisburg, PA, February 2017.
However, in 2021, it was announced that the township and the Whitemarsh Art Center would buy the property for $3.95 million preserving it for use by the center.


History

The settlement at Plymouth Meeting was founded by a group of
Devonshire Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, ...
Quakers Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...
who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1686. The Maulsby family, who later attained prominence, arrived in Pennsylvania in 1698, and came to Whitemarsh Township in 1705.Ella K. Barnard, ''Early Maltby, with Some Roades History, and That of the Maulsby Family in America'' (Baltimore: Ella K. Barnard, 1909

/ref>


Maulsby

Merchant Maulsby Jr. (1737–1772) was a
millwright A millwright is a craftsperson or skilled tradesperson who installs, dismantles, maintains, repairs, reassembles, and moves machinery in factories, power plants, and construction sites. The term ''millwright'' (also known as ''industrial mecha ...
, who married Hannah Davis (1743–1807) in 1766. On June 20, 1767, he purchased a 100-acre farm with frontage on the "Whitemarsh great road" (Germantown Pike) and the "Plymouth line" (Butler Pike), for £651. The purchase did not include the 8.25-acre plot at the northeast corner of Germantown and Butler Pikes, which the 1767 deed described as "Elizabeth and Catherine Ellis's Land." He and his wife built a 2-story stone house on the property. They had two children – Samuel (1768–1838) and Elizabeth (married John Freese). In 1769, Merchant Jr. was taxed £10 on 100 acres, one horse and one cow. He died in February 1772 at age 34. In the early morning of May 20, 1778, 10-year-old Samuel Maulsby watched as British troops marched down Butler Pike to the meetinghouse, part of their unsuccessful attempt to surround the
Marquis de Lafayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (, ), was a French aristocrat, freemason and military officer who fought in the American Revolutio ...
and 2,100 Continental troops at the
Battle of Barren Hill A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and for ...
. Maulsby's recollections were recorded by
John Fanning Watson John Fanning Watson (June 13, 1779 - December 23, 1860) was an Philadelphia antiquarian, a chronicler and an historian who became a professional writer. He is best known as the author of ''Annals of Philadelphia'' (1830). Life A bookseller, then ...
in his ''Annals of Philadelphia'' (1830), including his description of Redcoats looting his widowed mother's house. Widow Hannah Davis Maulsby married David Marple in 1781, and was soon widowed again.Cora M. Payne, ''Genealogy of the Maulsby Family for Five Generations'' (Des Moines, IA: George A. Miller Press, 1902). She married Richard Corson in 1784, with whom she had two children, Richard and Hannah. The Corsons occupied her 2-story stone house for a time, but settled in
Bucks County, Pennsylvania Bucks County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 646,538, making it the fourth-most populous county in Pennsylvania. Its county seat is Doylestown. The county is named after the English ...
. Samuel Dean was farming the Maulsby property in 1781; Enoch Marple was farming it in 1783; and seventeen-year-old Samuel Maulsby and his former schoolmate Joseph Corson, a nephew of Richard Corson, were farming it in 1785. Joseph Corson married Hannah Dickinson in 1786, and the young couple rented the 2-story stone house until 1789. Like Samuel Maulsby, they became abolitionists, and decades later one of their sons would marry one of his daughters. On 3 February 1794, Samuel Maulsby purchased the 8.25-acre plot at the northeast corner of Germantown and Butler Pikes, for £137.''Norristown Deed Book #9'', page 180, transcription in Barnard, p. 146. The sellers were John Fontiles and his wife Elizabeth, who had bought the corner plot from Joseph and Mary Potts on February 2, 1789. The 1794 deed mentioned "a messuage" (house) on the property, but did not describe it. Maulsby later purchased adjacent plots at the north end of the farm, which expanded it to 128 acres (51.8 hectares) and extended it to Flourtown Road.
Samuel Maulsby was the owner of a large and fertile farm at Plymouth Meeting... It included the whole north east corner of the two roads, the Germantown turnpike, its south boundary, and the Plymouth and Broad Axe turnpike, along which it extended for half a mile, its western boundary. addition to the farming operations the burning of lime was extensively carried on by him.
About 1795, he built a 3-story, 14-room, Federal-style dwelling on the corner, diagonally opposite the meetinghouse. An earlier stone house seems to have been incorporated into his new house. Maulsby built the stone barn, perhaps around the same time, and is presumed to have built the carriage shed. In 1799, he married Susanna Thomas (1780–1818), and they had seven children.Ellwood Roberts, ''Plymouth Meeting: Its Establishment, and The Settlement Of The Township'', (Norristown, PA: Roberts Publishing Company, 1900

/ref> Maulsby built or altered the Cater Corner House (1802), at the southeast corner of Butler Pike and Flourtown Road, possibly as housing for Thomas Davis, a free-black limeburner recorded as living on his property. ''Note:'' This includes At 3-5 Germantown Pike, just east of his house, Maulsby built the Plymouth Meeting General Store and Post Office (1826–27). His son Jonathan (1801–1845) ran the store and served as Plymouth Meeting's first postmaster. In 1832, Maulsby's daughter Martha (1807–1870) married George Corson (1803–1860), a son of Joseph and Hannah Corson, and a former clerk in the general store.Hiram Corson, M.D
"George Corson,"
''The Corson Family: A History of the Descendants of Benjamin Corson, Son of Cornelius Corssen of Staten Island, New York.'' (Philadelphia: H.L. Everett, 1906), pp. 112-17.
Samuel Maulsby died on July 12, 1838, and was interred beside his wife in the meetinghouse's burial ground. George and Martha Maulsby Corson purchased the farm from his estate on April 6, 1839. George and his brothers purchased the Maulsby limestone quarries, and founded what became G. & W. H. Corson Company – Lime Merchants.


Abolitionism

The
Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 The Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 was an Act of the United States Congress to give effect to the Fugitive Slave Clause of the US Constitution ( Article IV, Section 2, Clause 3), which was later superseded by the Thirteenth Amendment, and to also gi ...
made it a federal crime to give assistance to an escaped slave.
The earliest and only abolitionists in Plymouth and Whitemarsh townships were Samuel Maulsby, Joseph Corson and
is son In linguistics, a copula (plural: copulas or copulae; abbreviated ) is a word or phrase that links the subject of a sentence to a subject complement, such as the word ''is'' in the sentence "The sky is blue" or the phrase ''was not being'' ...
Alan W. Corson. Away back before 1820 they had been stirred by the scathing denunciations of slavery, and the horrors of the slave trade, made by
Granville Sharp Granville Sharp (10 November 1735 – 6 July 1813) was one of the first British campaigners for the abolition of the slave trade. He also involved himself in trying to correct other social injustices. Sharp formulated the plan to settle black ...
,
William Wilberforce William Wilberforce (24 August 175929 July 1833) was a British politician, philanthropist and leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780, eventually becom ...
and Thomas Fouell Buxton, before the Parliament of Great Britain, to an intense hatred of slavery and the slave trade, and the abominations of slavery in our own country.
Maulsby and the Corsons co-founded the Plymouth Meeting Anti-Slavery Society in 1831, which initially had seven members and met at the Plymouth Friends Meeting House. They also co-founded the Montgomery County Anti-Slavery Society in 1837, which initially had about twenty members and met at various locations in
Norristown Norristown may mean: * Norristown, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Norristown, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Norristown, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Norristown, Pennsylvania Norristown is a municipality with home ...
.Hiram Corson, M.D., "The Norristown Group," ''The Abolitionists of Montgomery County'', (Norristown, PA: Historical Society of Montgomery County, 1900), pp. 29–36.
Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 1817 or 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. After escaping from slavery in Maryland, he became ...
, former-slave and abolitionist, was the keynote speaker at an August 1847 anti-slavery convention held at the First Baptist Church of Norristown. His lecture was disrupted by about sixty ruffians standing outside and pelting the church's windows with rocks. A plot to abduct and
lynch Lynch may refer to: Places Australia * Lynch Island, South Orkney Islands, Antarctica * Lynch Point, Marie Byrd Land, Antarctica * Lynch's Crater, Queensland, Australia England * River Lynch, Hertfordshire * The Lynch, an island in the Rive ...
Douglass was thwarted.Charles Waddell Chesnutt, ''Frederick Douglass'', (Boston: Small, Maynard & Company, 1899), p. 18. Both George Corson's and Martha Maulsby's parents had sheltered escaped slaves. But it was the couple's close friendship with
Benjamin Lundy Benjamin Lundy (January 4, 1789August 22, 1839) was an American Quaker abolitionist from New Jersey of the United States who established several anti-slavery newspapers and traveled widely. He lectured and published seeking to limit slavery's expa ...
– publisher of the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society's weekly newspaper, ''The National Enquirer'' (1836–38) – that inspired them to fully engage in the cause. They turned their property into a major station on the Underground Railroad, providing food and shelter to hundreds of escaped slaves. Daniel Ross, a free black man in
Norristown, Pennsylvania Norristown is a municipality with home rule status and the county seat of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States, in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. Located along the Schuylkill River, approximately from the Philadelphia city li ...
, often acted as "conductor," leading the fugitives by night to the next stationRon Avery
"Plymouth Meeting Quakers Hid Slaves – It's A Shrine Of The Underground Railroad,"
''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', June 19, 1995.
— north to the house of William Foulke at Penllyn, Pennsylvania; or northeast to abolitionists living around the Quaker meetinghouses in Upper DublinAnnette John-Hall
"An underground story no more,"
''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', December 14, 2012.
and
Horsham, Pennsylvania Horsham is a home rule municipality in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 14,842 at the 2010 census. Horsham is located entirely within Horsham Township, and it is home to the Horsham Air Guard Station at the fo ...
. The Underground Railroad route continued through
Bucks County Bucks County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 646,538, making it the fourth-most populous county in Pennsylvania. Its county seat is Doylestown. The county is named after the English ...
, New Jersey and New York, and to eventual freedom in Canada. In at least one instance, Corson hid people under a wagonload of hay and drove them to the next station.
The greater burden of the work f sheltering runawayswas borne by George and his wife, Martha Maulsby Corson. Their residence in the old Maulsby home, right in front of the Friends' Plymouth Meeting-House, was so prominent a place, known by everybody for miles around, made it easy for slaves to find the place, when sent by those from a distance to "George Corson's at Plymouth Meeting." He it was who forwarded fugitives to Mahlon Linton, at Newtown, or to William H. Johnson, at Buckingham, or to Richard Moore, at Quakertown, Bucks county, time after time, during the whole period of the great struggle from 1830 to 1850.Hiram Corson, M.D. "The Plymouth Group," ''The Abolitionists of Montgomery County'', (Norristown, PA: Historical Society of Montgomery County, 1900), pp. 41–4

/ref>
The
Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 The Fugitive Slave Act or Fugitive Slave Law was passed by the United States Congress on September 18, 1850, as part of the Compromise of 1850 between Southern interests in slavery and Northern Free-Soilers. The Act was one of the most con ...
increased the penalties for giving assistance to an escaped slave to six months in prison and a $1,000 fine. It allowed slavecatchers to pursue a fugitive across state lines into every U.S. state and territory. Corson was involved in hiding Jane Johnson, whose escape exposed a
loophole A loophole is an ambiguity or inadequacy in a system, such as a law or security, which can be used to circumvent or otherwise avoid the purpose, implied or explicitly stated, of the system. Originally, the word meant an arrowslit, a narrow ver ...
in the federal law.Phil Lapsansky
"The Liberation of Jane Johnson,"
The Library Company of Philadelphia, 2003.


Jane Johnson

On the morning of July 18, 1855, Jane Johnson (1822–1872) and her two young sons, Daniel and Isaiah, arrived in Philadelphia by train with their master, North Carolina slaveholder John H. Wheeler, and his wife and three children. Wheeler was U.S. Ambassador to
Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the coun ...
, and they were en route from Washington, D.C. to New York City, from which they would board a ship to return to
Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
. At Philadelphia, they had to switch to a ferry to cross the
Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware, before ...
. Wheeler locked Johnson and her sons in a hotel room while he and his family took the afternoon to tour the city. Pennsylvania had begun an abolition of slavery in 1780, completed in 1847, and did not recognize the property rights of any slaveholder. Johnson sought help from a hotel porter in escaping to freedom. The porter contacted abolitionist
William Still William Still (October 7, 1821 – July 14, 1902) was an African-American abolitionist based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was a conductor on the Underground Railroad, businessman, writer, historian and civil rights activist. Before the Ameri ...
, the son of former slaves, and Still and lawyer Passmore Williamson rushed to the docks as the 5:00 pm ferry was about to depart for
Camden, New Jersey Camden is a city in and the county seat of Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Camden is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan area and is located directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the 20 ...
. They found Johnson and her sons with their master on the ferry's upper deck. Williamson approached her and explained that Pennsylvania law guaranteed her freedom, if she chose it: As Still led Johnson and her sons away, five black dockhands prevented Wheeler from stopping them. Williamson remained to explain to authorities that this had been a lawful act, not a kidnapping. Williamson, the only white man involved, was arrested and charged with violating the Fugitive Slave Act. Federal Judge John Kintzing Kane presided over his trial, and refused to believe that Williamson did not know where Johnson was being hidden. Kane found him in
contempt of court Contempt of court, often referred to simply as "contempt", is the crime of being disobedient to or disrespectful toward a court of law and its officers in the form of behavior that opposes or defies the authority, justice, and dignity of the cour ...
, and jailed him for more than three months, which attracted national attention. Williamson's successful defense was that Johnson's master had brought her into Pennsylvania, a free state, therefore she was not a fugitive across state lines, and state law rather than federal law applied. Still and the five dockhands were charged with forcible abduction,
riot A riot is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The property targete ...
ing,
disorderly conduct Disorderly conduct is a crime in most jurisdictions in the United States, the People's Republic of China, and Taiwan. Typically, "disorderly conduct" makes it a crime to be drunk in public, to " disturb the peace", or to loiter in certain are ...
, and
assault An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in cr ...
. On August 29, 1855, Johnson appeared as a surprise witness at their trial, and testified that she had voluntarily walked away from Wheeler. The most serious charges against the men were dismissed, although the two who had restrained Wheeler were convicted of assault and spent a week in jail. Johnson was escorted out of the courthouse by
Lucretia Mott Lucretia Mott (''née'' Coffin; January 3, 1793 – November 11, 1880) was an American Quaker, abolitionist, women's rights activist, and social reformer. She had formed the idea of reforming the position of women in society when she was amongs ...
, Rev. James Miller McKim and George Corson.William Still, ''The Underground Rail Road'' (Philadelphia: Porter & Coates, 1872

/ref> She was hidden at Corson's house in Plymouth Meeting to prevent pro-slavery activists from abducting her and returning her to slavery. At the end of her stay, Corson's 13-year-old son, Ellwood, drove Johnson in a carriage by night to Mahlon Linton's house in Newtown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Newtown, Pennsylvania. From there she was smuggled to Boston, Massachusetts, and reunited with her sons.


Abolition Hall

The Jane Johnson affair caused a national controversy—largely cheered in the North, viciously condemned in the South. The Plymouth Friends Meeting had permitted the anti-slavery society to use its meeting house for more than two decades, but, following the suspicious burning of a church that had hosted abolitionist speakers, in 1856 permission was denied for the first time. George Corson's reaction was to built a lecture hall above his carriage shed to provide a space for abolitionist meetings.
He determined to build a hall, over which he could have control. He made quite a large one and furnished it well with seats, warmed and lighted at his own expense. And now we can see how convenient it was for the lecturers to make his house their temporary home. As time wore on more and more neighbors and friends were attracted to the meetings to hear the eloquent and earnest men and women who pictured the atrocities of slavery.Theodore Weber Bean
"The Corson Family,"
''History of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Volume 2'', (Unigraphic, 1884), pp. 1036-37.
Abolition Hall could hold up to 200 people, and provided a meeting hall for the Plymouth Meeting Anti-Slavery Society and for lectures by prominent
abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...
s, including Frederick Douglass,Melia Bowie
"Historical marker for a carriage shed called Abolition Hall,"
''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', December 10, 2000.
Harriet Beecher Stowe Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe (; June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American author and abolitionist. She came from the religious Beecher family and became best known for her novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (1852), which depicts the harsh ...
,
William Lloyd Garrison William Lloyd Garrison (December , 1805 – May 24, 1879) was a prominent American Christian, abolitionist, journalist, suffragist, and social reformer. He is best known for his widely read antislavery newspaper '' The Liberator'', which he found ...
and Lucretia Mott. Corson died in November 1860.
William Still William Still (October 7, 1821 – July 14, 1902) was an African-American abolitionist based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was a conductor on the Underground Railroad, businessman, writer, historian and civil rights activist. Before the Ameri ...
eulogized Corson in his 1872 history of the Underground Railroad:
There were perhaps few more devoted men than George Corson to the interests of the oppressed everywhere. The slave, fleeing from his master, ever found a home with him, and felt while there that no slave-hunter would get him away until every means of protection should fail. He was ever ready to send his horse and carriage to convey them on the road to Canada, or elsewhere toward freedom. His home was always open to entertain the anti-slavery advocates, and being warmly supported in the cause by his excellent wife, everything which they could do to make their guests comfortable was done. It is to be regretted that he died before the emancipation of the slaves, which he had so long labored for, arrived.


Artist's studio

The Corsons' daughter Helen (1846–1935), trained as an artist at the
Philadelphia School of Design for Women Philadelphia School of Design for Women (1848–1932) was an art school for women in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Housed in the former Edwin Forrest House at 1346 North Broad Street, under the directorship of Emily Sartain (1886–1920), ...
and the
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is a museum and private art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.Paris Salon The Salon (french: Salon), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art ...
, 1876, 1879 and 1880. She met Irish-born painter Thomas Hovenden (1840–1895) in France, and they were married at the Plymouth Friends Meeting House on June 9, 1881. They moved into her late parents' house, and raised two children, Thomas Jr. and Martha. Hovenden succeeded
Thomas Eakins Thomas Cowperthwait Eakins (; July 25, 1844 – June 25, 1916) was an American realist painter, photographer, sculptor, and fine arts educator. He is widely acknowledged to be one of the most important American artists. For the length ...
as Professor of Painting at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1886."Thomas Hovenden, 1840 – 1895,"
from National Academy of Design.
He specialized in
genre scene Genre art is the pictorial representation in any of various media of scenes or events from everyday life, such as markets, domestic settings, interiors, parties, inn scenes, work, and street scenes. Such representations (also called genre works, ...
s of rural life, using his neighbors, often African Americans, as models. He converted Abolition Hall into a
studio A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial design ...
, and the moral causes that had been championed there inspired some of his works. His most famous painting – ''The Last Moments of John Brown'' (1882–84),
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
– depicts the radical abolitionist
John Brown John Brown most often refers to: *John Brown (abolitionist) (1800–1859), American who led an anti-slavery raid in Harpers Ferry, Virginia in 1859 John Brown or Johnny Brown may also refer to: Academia * John Brown (educator) (1763–1842), Ir ...
kissing a baby as he is led to
the gallows ''The Gallows'' is a 2015 American found footage supernatural horror film written and directed by Chris Lofing and Travis Cluff. The film stars Reese Mishler, Pfeifer Brown, Ryan Shoos and Cassidy Gifford. ''The Gallows'' was released in the ...
. Hovenden was elected a member of the
National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, and others "to promote the fin ...
in 1881, and an academician in 1882. "Thomas Hovenden lost his life on an unguarded grade crossing of the
Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...
near his home, August 14, 1895, in an attempt to save the life of a little girl who was crossing in front of an approaching engine. Both were killed." The accident occurred about three miles from his house, near the south end of what is now Chemical Road. Helen Corson Hovenden's advocacy pressured the Pennsylvania Railroad into elevating the tracks of its high-speed
Trenton Cutoff The Trenton Cutoff (sometimes spelled Trenton Cut Off) is a rail corridor in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania that runs from Morrisville to Glenloch. Today used by Norfolk Southern, it consists of two rail lines: the Morrisville Line, which runs ...
, separating them from the grade level tracks of trolleys. Rev.
William Henry Furness William Henry Furness (April 20, 1802 – January 30, 1896) was an American clergyman, theologian, Transcendentalist, abolitionist, and reformer. Biography Furness was born in Boston, where he attended the Boston Latin School and developed a lif ...
gave the eulogy at Thomas Hovenden's funeral, and Eakins and sculptor Samuel Murray were among the pall bearers. Helen Corson Hovenden was noted for her portraits of children and pets. The couple's daughter, Martha Maulsby Hovenden (1884–1941), a sculptor who trained at PAFA under
Charles Grafly Charles Allan Grafly, Jr. (December 3, 1862May 5, 1929) was an American sculptor, and teacher. Instructor of Sculpture at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts for 37 years, his students included Paul Manship, Albin Polasek, and Walker Hanc ...
and at the
Art Students League of New York The Art Students League of New York is an art school at 215 West 57th Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists. Although artists may stu ...
under
Hermon Atkins MacNeil Hermon Atkins MacNeil (February 27, 1866 – October 2, 1947) was an American sculptor born in Everett, Massachusetts. He is known for designing the ''Standing Liberty'' quarter, struck by the Mint from 1916-1930; and for sculpting ''Justi ...
, later used Abolition Hall as her studio. Examples of her work can be seen at the
Washington Memorial Chapel Washington Memorial Chapel — located on Pennsylvania Route 23 in Valley Forge National Historical Park — is both a national memorial dedicated to General George Washington and an active Episcopal parish in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania ...
in
Valley Forge Valley Forge functioned as the third of eight winter encampments for the Continental Army's main body, commanded by General George Washington, during the American Revolutionary War. In September 1777, Congress fled Philadelphia to escape the B ...
. Following the death of Alice Louisa Edwards Emerson, mother of artist Edith Emerson (who also was the life partner of Violet Oakley), she was commissioned by an Emerson family member to sculpt a headstone, which remains standing at a church cemetery near New Hope, PA. In 1939, she designed a bookplate, which is still in use by the Friends of the William Jeanes Memorial Library. In October 2016, the Friends of the Library donated the original etched copper printing plate to the
Woodmere Art Museum Woodmere Art Museum, located in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, has a collection of paintings, prints, sculpture and photographs focusing on artists from the Delaware Valley and includes works by Thomas Pollock Anshutz, S ...
in nearby Chestnut Hill. Nancy Corson (1920–2012), a great-granddaughter of George Corson and granddaughter of Dr. Ellwood M. Corson (the teenager who had assisted Jane Johnson in 1855), made the Maulsby stone barn her residence from 1946 until her death in 2012.


Plymouth Meeting Historic District

The village of Plymouth Meeting was designated a Pennsylvania historic district in 1961, by a joint resolution of Plymouth and Whitemarsh Townships. The district encompassed 66 historic structures. In 1971, the village of Plymouth Meeting became Pennsylvania's first National Register District. At the time, the Maulsby/Corson/Hovenden homestead was threatened by a plan to split Butler Pike into two one-way highways that would straddle the buildings on the property. The northbound bypass would have run alongside the east wall of the barn, and required the demolition of Abolition Hall. Nancy Corson authored a separate NRHP nomination specifically for the Hovenden House, Barn and Abolition Hall as a unit, which was also approved in 1971. Plans for the bypass were abandoned.


Historical marker

Nancy Corson and Charles L. Blockson, an authority on the history of the Underground Railroad, co-wrote the nomination for a Pennsylvania state historical marker to commemorate Abolition Hall. The marker was approved, and dedicated at 4006 Butler Pike (in front of the barn) on November 18, 2000:"Abolition Hall (Thomas Hovenden) Historical Marker,"
from Explore PA History. NOTE: The article gets some of the dates wrong, and mistakes the barn for the carriage house.


Recent history

An offer by Whitemarsh Township to purchase the eight acres of fields for open space was declined by its owners in 2014.Kristin E. Holmes
"Coexistence sought for Underground Railroad site and townhouses,"
''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', May 9, 2016.
The Township's 2014 offer did not include acquisition of the historic structures.


Proposed development

In late 2015, K. Hovnanian Builders submitted a sketch plan to the township's planning/zoning office that proposed the construction of 48 townhouses on the eight acres of open space behind the buildings. The plan included the re-routing of Butler Pike between the Hovenden House and the Barn/Abolition Hall. This re-routing would require the demolition or relocation of the Plymouth Meeting General Store and Post Office (also listed on the National Register).Brian Coll
"The intersection at Butler Pike and Germantown Pike could change as well as the entire landscape,"
''Conshystuff'', April 8, 2016.
Following vocal opposition, the Whitemarsh Township Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to deny the request for a zoning variance. In response, the developer requested a continuance of a scheduled April 25, 2016 zoning hearing.Michael Bixler
"Historic estate and Underground Railroad station under threat in Plymouth Meeting,"
Hidden City Philadelphia, April 20, 2016.
In late August 2016, K. Hovnanian Builders submitted a revised Zoning Plan to Whitemarsh Township, asserting that this plan met the requirements for shared parking and access (with an adjacent property). In early November 2016, the Zoning Officer issued his Preliminary Opinion, concurring with the developer's assertion that the current Zoning Plan met the requirements of the code. With the second publication of this opinion, a 30-day period begins during which any "aggrieved" party can file an appeal. Absent such appeal, the Zoning Officer's opinion becomes binding. (See Section 916.2--Preliminary Opinion of the Zoning Officer). On December 21, 2016, seven concerned Whitemarsh Township residents, represented by counsel, filed an appeal, challenging the Zoning Officer's Preliminary Opinion. On January 31, that appeal was heard before the Whitemarsh Township Zoning Hearing Board, but after three hours of testimony and questions, the hearing was continued to March 16, 2017. On February 15, the attorney for the appellants submitted a legal brief, further supporting the challenge to the Preliminary Opinion.


Preservation Advocacy

In Spring 2016, the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia placed Abolition Hall/Barn and Hovenden House on its list of "Places to Save," a public registry that "focuses attention and energy towards special places at risk of being lost.""Places to Save,"
''Extant Magazine'' (Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia, Fall 2016), pp. 14-15.
In September 2016, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission issued a letter to Plymouth and Whitemarsh Townships clarifying and reiterating the significance of the Maulsby/Corson/Hovenden homestead. Noting the "inter-related complex of buildings," the letter goes on to state that their 1971 nomination to the National Register of Historic Places "reinforces the important role that these buildings played within the context of the village, as well as their individual historical and architectural significance." In February 2017, Preservation Pennsylvania (PPA) added the property to its 2017 Pennsylvania At Risk List. The organization also agreed to serve as the fiscal agent for Friends of Abolition Hall and raise funds to support the zoning challenge and protect the legacy of the homestead. The grassroots battle to save the legacy of the Corson homestead continues as the Friends of Abolition Hall challenges the developer's application for conditional use approval. The application is under consideration by the Whitemarsh Township Board of Supervisors, with a Public Hearing having opened on March 22, 2018. Thereafter, hearing was continued on six more occasions, with closing arguments scheduled for September 13, 2018."Abolition Hall advocacy group seeks donations,"
''The Chestnut Hill Local'', September 2018.
The Friends group was granted standing in this matter, as was a small number of nearby neighbors. The objections to the proposed townhouse plan are based upon the assertion that it fails to meet the requirements of the Zoning Code, which is a prerequisite to conditional use approval.Dutch Godshalk
"Local advocacy group continues years long effort to preserve Abolition Hall,"
''The Times Herald'' (Norristown, Pennsylvania), April 16, 2018.
In 2020, the developer dropped their plans for the property and it will be purchased by the township and the Whitemarsh Art Center, preserving it for use by the center for art classes and other arts programming.


Media coverage


Television

* "Battle over Montco's ties to the Underground Railroad," NBC10, Philadelphia, May 7, 2016. The current owner of the Plymouth Meeting Country Store and Post Office took the news crew into the building's cellar and showed them the tunnels that he says were used as part of the Underground Railroad.


Newspapers

* "Plymouth Meeting Quakers hid slaves – It's a shrine of the Underground Railroad," ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', June 19, 1995. * "Historical marker for a carriage shed called Abolition Hall," ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', December 10, 2000. * "An underground story no more," ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', December 14, 2012. * "Coexistence sought for Underground Railroad site and townhouses," ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', May 9, 2016. * "Local advocacy group continues years long effort to preserve Abolition Hall," ''The Times Herald'' (Norristown, Pennsylvania), April 16, 2018. * "Don't let developers degrade this historic Underground Railroad stop," ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', April 26, 2018. Op-Ed column by Sydelle Zove drawing attention to the fate of this precious Underground Railroad site. * "Abolition Hall advocacy group seeks donations," ''The Chestnut Hill Local'', September 7, 2018. * "Pennsylvania’s antislavery history is under threat from suburban development", ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', October 26, 2018."Pennsylvania’s antislavery history is under threat from suburban development"
''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', October 26, 2018.
Column by
Inga Saffron Inga Saffron (born November 9, 1957) is an American journalist and architecture critic. She won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Criticism while writing for ''The Philadelphia Inquirer''. Biography Saffron was raised in Levittown, New York and attend ...
, the Pulitzer-Prize-winning design critic for ''The Philadelphia Inquirer''.


Online

* "The Liberation of Jane Johnson," ''The Library Company of Philadelphia'', 2003. * "The intersection at Butler Pike and Germantown Pike could change as well as the entire landscape," ''Conshystuff'', April 8, 2016. * "Historic estate and Underground Railroad station under threat in Plymouth Meeting," ''Hidden City Philadelphia'', April 20, 2016. * "Places to Save," ''Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia'', Fall 2016. * "2017 Pennsylvania At Risk Announced," ''Preservation Pennsylvania'', February 2017 (PDF). * "Hope and Despair Surround Philly's African-American Landmarks," ''Hidden City Philadelphia'', February 28, 2020. File:Martha Hovenden Engraving of William Jeanes.jpg, Bookplate for the William Jeanes Memorial Library (1939) by Martha M. Hovenden


See also

* Alan West Corson Homestead *
National Register of Historic Places listings in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania __NOTOC__ This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on National Register of Historic Places in Montgomery Count ...


Notes


References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Houses on the Underground Railroad Underground Railroad in Pennsylvania Houses in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Abolitionism in the United States History of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Federal architecture in Pennsylvania Tourist attractions in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Houses completed in 1795 Houses completed in 1856 National Register of Historic Places in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Pennsylvania Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania