photo courtesy of the Kennett Underground Railroad Center
The History of the Kennett Square Underground Railroad in Chester County
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Asia Tabb
photo courtesy of the Kennett Underground Railroad Center
Aired; April 14th, 2025.
Inside Chester County lies Kennett Square, a town known for its mushroom farms. But hidden beneath its surface is a powerful history—one that reveals the courage, solidarity, and risk that defined the Underground Railroad. Today, that legacy lives on through the work of the Kennett Underground Railroad Center (KURC), where volunteers are striving to preserve a story too long overlooked.
“This is a very important item in history, and yet it has been set aside for so many years with no one saying anything about it,” says Debbie Burston, educator and board member of the Center. “It needs to be in the forefront. These people risked their lives, their livelihood—everything—in order to do this.”
Kennett Square’s proximity to the Mason-Dixon Line made it a crucial junction for freedom seekers traveling north from Maryland and Delaware. “We had a station master in Wilmington, Delaware named Thomas Garrett,” explains Burston. “He was instrumental in over 2,700 freedom seekers getting away to freedom. His Quaker relatives and others lived in Kennett Square, and the freedom seekers went from Wilmington to Kennett.”
Burston notes that not all of Kennett was involved in the Underground Railroad, but a small, fiercely committed group kept the route alive for over four decades. “These people… did it very quietly. Finding information is difficult, but we do know what happened—and we know that it was here.”
Crystal Crampton, current president of KURC, became involved through her work with historical Black cemeteries. “I was looking for the names of the people buried in Bacto Cemetery,” she recalls. “When I was doing research, I ran across some forces of nature—Mary Dugan and Francis Cloud Taylor—and they had a mission to make sure the Kennett Underground Railroad was known.”
What began as a board meeting invitation turned into a passionate calling. “We were there to learn… and we became board members before we left,” she laughs.
Visitors to the Kennett Underground Railroad Center are met with a rich, immersive experience. “When you come into the room, first of all, you see this wealth of knowledge,” says Crampton. “Debbie created this fabulous timeline that runs from 1619 to 1865, and we have QR codes that let you dive deeper into each moment.”
Listen to the podcast to hear the full conversation.
