Longwood Progressive Meeting, now the Chester County Visitors Center outside Longwood Gardens.
Kennett Underground Heritage Tours
Learn about the history all around us, here in this "hotbed of abolitionism." KURC offers our popular narrated tours on summer Sunday afternoons, May 23, June 27, July 25, and August 29 (reservations are necessary), and at other times by arrangement. One of our guides will be glad to join you in your car, bus, or van and lead a tour for a modest donation. Call 610-347-2237 for information or to reserve. Tours will depart from the Chester County Visitors Center at Longwood Gardens' entrance.
Activities
We're excited about some events at KURC:
East Linden Street: A History
In fall 2008 East Linden Street: a History was published. KURC has been researching the history of Kennett’s East Linden Street, with its tradition of a diverse population and its ties to early Kennett industry and entrepreneurship, as well as to the Underground Railroad. Chester County Community Foundation, Wachovia Regional Foundation, and Pennsylvania’s Department of Community & Economic Development are generous sponsors of this project.
Copies may be purchased from KURC, 610-347-2237, the Chester County Visitors Center, the Kennett Area Senior Center, Chester County Historical Society, and Chester County Book Company. The cost is $5.00. To learn more, click here.
Grey Sox Film
In 2007, we presented the premiere of our Grey Sox Documentary. In November 2006 KURC board members Linda and Rusty Jones hosted a party at the Kennett Area Senior Center to celebrate this baseball team and its accomplishments, and Lincoln University’s Darian Bagley filmed team memorabilia and former players as they recalled their glory days. KURC is proud to sponsor this record of a vivid part of Kennett’s history, produced by Darian Bagley, with the support of the Anne and Steve Hutton Fund of the Chester County Community Fund. To purchase the 35-minute film, call 610-347-2237. The cost is $10 + $2 for shipping and handling.
Smedley Book New Edition
R. C. Smedley's long out-of-print History of the Underground Railroad in Chester and Neighboring Counties in Pennsylvania has been reissued by Stackpole Books. The new edition, with an introduction by Christopher Densmore, curator of Swarthmore College's Friends Historical Library, is available at the Chester County Historical Society, the Chester County Visitors Center, or may be ordered from KURC by calling 610-347-2237. The cost is $14.95.
Longwood 150th
We celebrated the 150th anniversary of the building of Longwood Progressive Meeting of Friends, Sunday, May 22, 2005. This building, now owned by Longwood Gardens and used by the Chester County Convention and Visitors Bureau, retains the atmosphere of its compelling history. Click here for info about this splendid day.