Join us for a fun in-person tour exploring Germantown’s rich history of religious freedom!

This two-hour walking tour will begin at the Pastorius Statue in Vernon Park and follow Germantown Avenue along the northern edge of the Germantown Colonial Historic District, highlighting the various religious and intellectual groups who were present in early Germantown, including Quakers, Mennonites, Moravians, Reformed Lutherans, and natural scientists.

This tour will include the site of the Battle of Germantown and an episode during which Benjamin Franklin's militia confronted vigilantes in Germantown to protect the religious freedom and lives of Lenape Moravian converts. Germantown was a site of early abolitionism and an early version of the Underground Railroad, as well as a hub for early American free thinkers and scientists who observed and cataloged the natural order. The tour will be led by Kime Lawson, professor at Thomas Jefferson University. Cost is $20 per person. Attendance limited to 20 people. The tour will end in the vicinity of Germantown Ave. and Upsal Street, near the Cliveden Mansion.