As the African American Museum of Bucks County puts the finishing touches on its new permanent location opening to the public June 20, the center received a $1,000 grant from a Montgomery County chapter of the Questers, a historic preservation organization.
The grant will fund a high-quality glass case protecting an antique illustrated copy of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” the Harriet Beecher Stowe novel credited with advancing the abolitionist cause among white Northerners in the years before the Civil War.
At the June 10 check presentation, AAMBC Vice President William H. Reed thanked the “Whimsies” chapter of the Questers for their donation.
“This support that you’ve given us is going to enable us to continue to develop our missions and to preserve the legacy of African Americans in Bucks County,” Reed said.
AAMBC Board Member Roger Brown unveiled the glass case.
“This is something that we will cherish forever,” he said.
From traveling collection to permanent home in Bucks County
The opening of the Bucks County museum at the historic Boone farm on Langhorne Newtown Road fulfills a years-long dream for museum leadership.
But the milestone is also bittersweet.
Founding AAMBC President Linda Salley died May 11 at age 78, just weeks before the museum opening cementing her brick-and-mortar legacy in Bucks County.
“We are very shocked and grieved,” said Patricia Mervine, capital campaign chair for the museum.
Salley and other members of the First Baptist Church in Langhorne first gathered in 2012 to discuss establishing an African American history museum in Bucks County.
In 2014, the group opened an exhibition in a house across the street from the church, but their collection quickly outgrew that building.
“It grew and grew to the point that we realized that the house… was not going to be adequate enough to house the ideas that we needed to house,” Reed explained.
In 2020, Bucks County leased the vacant Boone farm, which once served as a stop on the Underground Railroad, to the museum group for an annual fee of $1.
Since then, staff have been hard at work renovating the building and fundraising for the museum’s future. They’re eager to welcome their first visitors soon.
“You see the progress and that’s really, really exciting,” Reed said.
Mervine noted that the museum has reached 95% of its fundraising goal.
“We can’t wait,” she said.
First look at upcoming exhibits
In addition to “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” and other antique books, the museum will display a bronze statue cast by Harlem Renaissance sculptor and New Hope resident Selma Burke, replicas of Harriet Tubman’s belongings and audio recordings of notable figures in African American history.
The museum also includes a prayer hall with stained glass windows, a conference room with audiovisual capabilities and a classroom that will host rotating exhibits. As the nation approaches its 250th anniversary, the first temporary exhibit will examine African Americans’ roles in the Revolutionary War.
The new museum is located at 867 Langhorne Newtown Road. It will open to the public on Saturday, June 20, following an invitation-only grand opening on Juneteenth, Friday, June 19.
General admission is $12, with $10 tickets for seniors.
