Open house to feature new Underground Railroad exhibit
The Dr. James Sill Education Center will celebrate Dr. Still’s 205th birthday with an open house Sunday, April 9, from 1 to 4 p.m. The open house will feature the new Underground Railroad exhibit which fills a room on the second floor. The Center is located at 211 Church Road in Medford, about a quarter-mile east of Route 541. Birthday cake and ice cream will be included in the free admission.
Dr. Still, known as the “Black Doctor of the Pines,” was a renowned herbalist who practiced his craft in the mid-1800s. He concocted numerous elixirs and salves and was known for curing many people of all races. Through the year he purchased many properties along Church Road and elsewhere in the region and was one of the wealthiest men in Burlington County when he died in 1882. We know his story because he left behind a printed autobiography, unusual for a black man at that time.
In addition to the Underground Railroad room, the Still Center hosts exhibits on the Lenape Indians, who once inhabited the area, and on Dr. Stills office, which is filled with artifacts from the period when he practiced.
The Dr. Still Education Center will be open to the public Sunday afternoons throughout the summer. School groups attend spring and fall by reregistration and adult groups are also welcome to book tours.
For more information, visit www.DrJamesStillCenter.com.
