Burlington County Freeholder Director Joe Donnelly announced he has asked Burlington County College to partner with the county in assisting the Underground Railroad Educational Center formerly housed on Union Street in Burlington City.
The Underground Railroad Educational Center has recently fallen under difficult times, which has resulted in the center losing its lease in Burlington City.
The museum collection does not have a place to display, which the county and the college will try to rectify.
Donnelly has asked the college to assist and they have responded that they have space available at their new Willingboro Town Center location, which is ideally located along the Route 130 corridor.
“This is a significant piece of Burlington County and quite frankly national history that needs to be safe guarded for future generations to explore and learn,” Donnelly said. “When I read about their difficulties in the paper, I knew right away that the County was going to do everything we could to help them out.”
Donnelly has asked his staff and members of the college to reach out to Louise Calloway, the founder of the center and work with her to explore the feasibility for moving the center to the college and if so, to quickly develop a plan for moving forward.
The nonprofit center has served as an educational center for students, a museum, a library, a coffeehouse and an exhibition space for artists and performers, making the college an ideal partner and its Willingboro Center a perfect location close to its original site in Burlington City.
“In addition to providing a location for the center, this partnership also provides an exceptional learning opportunity for our Burlington County College students to experience more about the Underground Railroad and the role Burlington County played in this important part of American history,” Donnelly said.
