City of Philadelphia - File #: 110398

• File #: 110398
• Version: 0
• Type: Resolution
• Status: ADOPTED
• File created: 5/12/2011
• In control: CITY COUNCIL
• Final action: 5/26/2011
• Title: Honoring the American Women's Heritage Society on its 25th Anniversary.
• Sponsors: Councilmember Tasco, Councilmember Reynolds Brown, Councilmember Jones, Councilmember Miller, Councilmember O'Neill, Councilmember Greenlee, Councilmember Goode, Councilmember Clarke, Councilmember Rizzo, Councilmember DiCicco, Council President Verna, Councilmember Kenney, Councilmember Sanchez, Councilmember Green, Councilmember Blackwell

Date	Ver.	Action By	Action	Result	Tally
5/26/2011	0	CITY COUNCIL	ADOPTED
5/12/2011	0	CITY COUNCIL	Introduced and Ordered Placed On Next Week's Final Passage Calendar	Pass

Title
Honoring the American Women's Heritage Society on its 25th Anniversary.

Body
WHEREAS, in November 1986, the American Women's Heritage Society ("Heritage Society") started as an initiative to save Belmont Mansion, which at that time was not being used and was at risk of being demolished, and, through the leadership of Audrey Johnson Thornton, the Heritage Society reclaimed Belmont Mansion and restored it to its former beauty and glory; and

WHEREAS, during the Mansion's early restoration, a Heritage Society historian discovered its place in history and learned that the Belmont Mansion served as a station in the Underground Railroad and, consequently, the Heritage Society was the first organization to use the Mansion as a museum that was open to the public; and

WHEREAS, through additional research sponsored by the Heritage Society, the importance of the role of Belmont Mansion in the Underground Railroad was learned and The National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom recognized the Mansion as a significant place for interpreting the history of the Underground Railroad and The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center named it the first of its Freedom Stations in Pennsylvania; and

WHEREAS, through Ms. Thornton's leadership of the Heritage Society, Belmont Mansion became one of the most important buildings in Fairmount Park and, over a fifteen year period with funding from the City of Philadelphia, National Endowment for the Humanities Save America's Treasures Program, Pew Charitable Trusts, and William Penn Foundation, the Mansion was restored and reopened to the public in 2007 as the Underground Railroad Museum; and

WHEREAS, visitors from around the world view the exhibits and attend the educational programs at the Belmont Mansion and learn about the Underground Railroad, Abolitionist Movement, and the story of the people who live and worked at the Mansion, their commitment to the idea of f...