The Pine Forge Manor House remembered
as part of The Underground Railroad
August 7, 2002. Kristina Quay, who just completed eighth grade at Northwestern Lehigh Middle School, recently presented a 45-minute lecture on the Underground Railroad to students at the Pine Forge Academy in Pine Forge, Berks County. Quay was invited to the school by Dr. Vincent Anderson, dean of students and vice principal, while she was doing research on the Underground Railroad for Project Preserve, part of the eighth-grade curriculum.
She used photographs, a Power Point presentation and music for her discussion, which included a review of the history of the Underground Railroad. She described many of the codes and symbols used to keep the railroad secretive. Two routes ran through Berks County and one ran through Northampton County.
Kristina had heard rumors that a fireplace at the King George Inn in South Whitehall Township and a tunnel under Ziegels Union Church in Breinigsville were used as underground stations. Though documentation could not be found, it may be possible that a route would have been made from the Kirbyville Hotel to downtown Allentown and Bethlehem using these two sites.
Pine Forge Manor House and the remains of an old forge are located on the campus of the academy, and it was discovered that the manor house was used by the Underground Railroad. A land grant from William Penn was given to Thomas Rutter, a Quaker abolitionist, and he built the Manor House and Forge in 1720.
To protect the residents around the Manor House, Rutter dug tunnels under the house for protection from the Indians, and 100 years later, John Rutter used the tunnels to hide runaway slaves. Owners of some of the forges and furnaces in Berks County employed free blacks, making it easy for runaways to blend into the community.
They were also sympathetic to the difficulties of the slaves, and they were located in remote areas and surrounded by wilderness, making it difficult for slave catchers to find the runaways.
Today, the Manor House is part of the Pine Forge Academy, a 150-student co-educational preparatory boarding high school affiliated with the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Dr. Anderson would like to incorporate some of KristinaÕs program into the introduction for the Manor House museum, which is in the process of being restored.
Kristina, the daughter of Drs. Jeffrey and Deanna Quay of Weisenberg Township, presented the program to the Pottstown WomenÕs Club in the fall of 2002.
BEFORE YOU GO...
Update your entry in the Class of '65 Online Database.
VISIT our Alma Mater's official website: Pine Forge Academy (a new window will open)
Sign the Class of '65 Guest Book and, above all, enjoy the PFA65 site!
DID YOU KNOW..
that The DIRECTORY gives each class member a complete page?
Here's where you can post what you're doing now, links to the stuff you like, who you were way back then, who you've become right now. All Class of '65 members and our friends get a single page to talk about work, family, likes/dislikes, favorite web links, just about anything at all. See who's REGSITERED now!
