Franklin County, PA's photostream

Underground Railroad

Franklin County land, purchased from the family of William Penn, was America’s frontier. Experience settlement and fort history, Native American history, and the lifestyles of Welsh, German, and Scots-Irish settlers.

Franklin County played an important role in the passage to freedom—the Underground Railroad. Its location on the Mason-Dixon Line signaled escaping slaves entry to the north, and the mountainous terrain numerous hiding places in caves and wooded areas.
Chambersburg, Greencastle, and Mercersburg had substantial free black populations, and by 1860, Franklin County had the fifth largest African-American population.