‘Emeline Hawkins: Her Journey from Slavery to Freedom on the Underground Railroad’ exhibit closed on July 23, 2017
-Exhibit closed on July 23, 2017-
From Sept. 28, 2007 through July 23, 2017, the New Castle Court House Museum, located at 211 Delaware St. in New Castle, Del., featured “Emeline Hawkins: Her Journey from Slavery to Freedom on the Underground Railroad,” an exhibit that chronicled the compelling story of Emeline Hawkins and her family, and their 1845 odyssey on the Underground Railroad from slavery in Maryland, through Delaware, to freedom in Pennsylvania. The exhibit shined a spotlight on the roles played by noted Delawareans of the Underground Railroad including “conductor” Samuel Burris, who led the Hawkins family out of Maryland into Delaware; and “stationmasters” Thomas Garrett and John Hunn, who sheltered the family and aided their escape into Pennsylvania. The exhibit also examined the famous federal trial at the New Castle Court House in 1848 which resulted in the conviction of Hunn and Garrett on charges of violating the Federal Fugitive Slave Act.
