Richard Moore marker dedication, Quakertown, Bucks County

So if you're paying attention to my usual update schedule, you might be thinking, "Hey, aren't you supposed to be posting next week instead of this week?" And you would be correct, because this is one of the in-between weeks in which I don't tell you about the history behind a marker.

Instead, I thought I'd do a sort of 'special edition' for the blog, and share my experiences from this past weekend when a marker was dedicated. I don't know how often I'll be able to attend a marker dedication ceremony, but I'm going to get to them when I can because I'm interested to see how the different communities handle the events. This was the first one I ever attended, and I had a wonderful time. The actual history behind the Richard Moore marker will be covered in next week's regularly scheduled blog post; but here's how it went seeing it unveiled.

Not showing the actual marker until next week!
But here's what they look like before unveiling.

My husband Kevin and I went to the event together, and right from the beginning I messed up a little. We initially went straight to the Richard Moore house (401 South Main Street, Quakertown), but parking was actually at a few other locations, with a shuttle providing transport to the event. We eventually parked at the museum of the Upper Bucks Chamber of Commerce, where we browsed their relics (and introduced a few of their members to this blog) before heading over to McCoole's at the Historic Red Lion. That's the landmark inn which has Quakertown's first marker, which I talked about last year when I wrote about the Fries Rebellion.

All of Quakertown's historic buildings were open for free visitation from 11 am to 1 pm, which was the starting time for the ceremony, and then again from 2 to 4. Shortly before the clock struck one, the shuttle arrived and carried many people to the Richard Moore house, where a considerable crowd had gathered; I'd say there were close to a hundred people there, although I didn't actually count. Many of the attendees were attired in historical costume, which I thought was a fun detail. The ceremony opened with a prayer by Rev. Douglas Donigian of the Quakertown First United Church of Christ, and things got quickly underway.

Christina Landis, of the Quakertown
Historical Society, with the formal
proclamations

There were several esteemed speakers and guests, and although I tried to take notes, I was sort of caught up in everything that was being said. John Wyatt of the Quakertown Historical Society functioned as sort of a master of ceremonies, introducing town council members and other visiting dignitaries. Formal proclamations on the occasion were presented by Rep. Craig Staats of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and Senator Robert Mensch; these were received by Christina Landis, treasurer of the historical society. (That's her to the left in her period costume, holding the proclamations, with the Richard Moore house behind her.) We also heard from Dr. Robert Leight, one of the authors of Richard Moore and the Underground Railroad at Quakertown, and Bill Reed, vice-president of the African-American Museum of Bucks County. They both had a lot of interesting things to say about Richard Moore, the efforts of the Underground Railroad in Bucks County, and how the house was connected to the events known as the Christiana Riots (which have their own marker and will be covered later). Scott Doyle, of the PHMC, was on hand to represent them and speak on their behalf; he's a native of Bucks County, so he said it was really special for him to be able to attend the ceremony.

The Back Bench Boys prepare to lead the hymn

A group called the Back Bench Boys, from the Second Baptist Church of Doylestown, led us in singing James Weldon Johnson's "Lift Every Voice and Sing," also known as the Black National Anthem. It's a very moving hymn and I'll admit I don't remember ever even hearing it before, much less singing it. Lyrics were provided in the event program, along with a detailed explanation of how the marker was acquired for Quakertown, a map of the other historic locations in the town that could be visited, and art by local artist Jim Lukens, whose work can be seen in Quakertown's Main Street Gallery.

The Richard Moore house prior to the unveiling,
with my husband getting in the way

With the unveiling of the marker, the ceremony was concluded, and everyone was encouraged to go and visit the other historical locations. The Richard Moore house is actually private property, and people live there, so touring it was not an option; however, many other locations were open to the public. This included the Richland Library Company, the Arts and Events Place at McCoole's, the Burgess Foulke House (home of the first burgess of Quakertown), the Richland Friends Meeting house, and Liberty Hall (where the Liberty Bell stopped on its way from Philadelphia to Allentown). The Chamber of Commerce's museum was also still open to visitors.

Update 9/20/2019: Hayden Mitman, of local PBS station WLVT, has a video about the ceremony.

Liberty Hall, on West Broad Street

Kevin and I headed back to McCoole's for lunch first, where we even had the same server as on our previous visit - hi Eileen! From there we walked to Liberty Hall and the Burgess Foulke House; we didn't have time for the guided tours, but there was plenty to learn just by poking around the buildings and picking up literature. Our last stop was the Richland Library Company, which dates from 1788; Dr. Leight and his co-author, Thomas Moll, were signing copies of their book and I wanted to make sure to get one. We also met another local author, Kay Winters, and picked up one of her children's books. The library had several art displays, a demonstration about the Freedom Quilts of the Underground Railroad, and a display and information regarding the Armenian genocide and the Near East Relief organization, which was something of a forerunner to the Peace Corps.

It was a long and fascinating day, and I'd never felt quite so much like I was part of living history. I'm grateful to the Quakertown Historical Society for making sure that I knew about the event and could arrange to be there, and to all of this blog's new friends. I hope you'll be back next week when I talk about what the marker actually says!

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Except where indicated, all writing and photography on this blog is the intellectual property of Laura Klotz. This blog is written with permission of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. I am not employed by the PHMC. All rights reserved.