If the proposed plans to reroute Butler Pike between the Corson homestead and Abolition hall move forward, the historic building may be put at risk, writes William C. Kashatus for Philly.com.

The Hall is at the intersection of Butler and Germantown Pikes. It was converted from a carriage shed and attached stone barn into an abolitionist lecture hall in 1856 by George Corson, a cofounder of the Plymouth Meeting Anti-Slavery Society.

Corson used the property to hold anti-slavery meetings while serving as an agent on the Underground Railroad. The property is a powerful reminder of those times and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.

Along with Dan Ross and William Still, Corson coordinated the eastern line of the Underground Railroad. Ross and Still, who were both black, used to send runaway slaves to Corson who would hide them in Abolition Hall.

However, with a nearby housing development under consideration and the proposed road changes, the property’s future is at risk. According to the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission this would endanger a building of “historical and architectural significance.”

Read more about the rich history of Abolition Hall at Philly.com by clicking here.

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