African American Museum of Bucks County gets $250k state boost as officials break ground in Middletown

On the lawn in front of Boone Farm in Middletown on Wednesday morning, years of dedicated work came to fruition as Linda Salley joined government officials in turning over a few ceremonial shovelfuls of dirt for the new African American Museum of Bucks County.

Bucks County officials agreed in 2020 to lease the historic farm to the African American Museum until 2030.

Since its founding in 2014, the museum has been a mobile and virtual entity. Boone farm, one of the most historic properties in the county, is located in Core Creek Park in Middletown and has been in possession of the county for about 50 years.

The groundbreaking ceremony signified the end of one challenge, and the beginning of another, as the museum and its affiliates prepare to begin renovations on the new space that will bring Black history to the public in a permanent space for the first time.

“It’s been a long journey, and this journey is not over", said Salley, the president and executive director at the event. “The real work is going to start after this day.”

Speakers including the Bucks County Commissioners and other local officials expressed that a museum honoring the legacy and contributions of the African American community in Bucks County is long overdue.

“Bucks County [is] one of the oldest counties in this country... but we don’t often see the history of the African American community that has been here since the beginning, ”said Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia, who has worked closely with the museum to get a permanent home.

An Intertwined History

In the 2020 press release announcing the new lease of the property, Salley recounted how she first moved to Bristol and taught a quilting class for 12 women who had been a part of the Great Migration of approximately 6 million African Americans from the rural South to industrial Northern and Western cities in the mid-20th century.

These women were the first to tell Salley about Boone Farm, recalling how a truck would pick them up and take them to Boone Farm to work. She did not know where Boone Farm was until years later, when Ellis-Marseglia suggested the old homestead as a permanent location for the museum.

“I feel like this farm has been waiting... these are parts of history that the African American community has been missing for years,” said Ellis-Marseglia on Wednesday.

Boone Farm itself has a rich history, centered on the 1716 Godfrey Kirk farmhouse that is one of the oldest surviving homes in Bucks County. Pat Mervine, whose family has ties to the immediate vicinity, has independently researched the property, and is publishing a book on Boone Farm this year.

While delving into its past, Mervine found a darker piece of the farm's history: in the 18th century, at least two individuals were kept as slaves on the property.

“I was just curious, on my own, about who lived here,” said Mervine, “and I researched, and there were two enslaved people kept [at Boone Farm]. One was a man, and one was a young boy named John, who was 4 years old.... It certainly ties into the history that nobody knows about... and it certainly ties into why this museum is needed.”

Mervine noted that the history of slavery in Pennsylvania is sometimes overlooked due to the historical predominance of Quakers, who generally supported abolition of slavery by then end of the 18th century.

According to Mervine, the farm has passed through 21 different owners in its three centuries of existence, including the Boone family, who owned it for roughly 50 years beginning in 1914. This was during the time that the farm employed African American workers such as the women who Salley met in Bristol.

The history that will be highlighted at the museum will span centuries. The African American Museum of Bucks County seeks to highlight “contributions that show the diverse journeys of African Americans in art, culture, politics, sports, and other areas.... honoring and illuminating the legacy of the African American experience from African roots to the present day.”

The museum had hoped to open last year, but was delayed, presumably due to the pandemic and other reasons.

Boone Farm passed into county ownership along with the rest of Core Creek Park about 50 years ago, and has remained unused until now.

Surprise state funding for Bucks County's newest museum

Halfway through the groundbreaking ceremony, State Rep. Frank Farry asked Salley back to the podium.

“Thanksgiving might be tomorrow, but I wanted to give you an early Christmas present,” said Farry, before confirming that he and State Sen. Robert "Tommy" Tomlinson had secured $250,000 in funding from the state of Pennsylvania for the museum, taking Salley by surprise.

This funding will be a major start towards the $2.4 million restoration contract and $201,000 plumbing and fire protection contract that will help prepare the museum for visitors, according to a Bucks County press release.

Bernard Griggs, Jr., Bucks County project and diversity officer, confirmed that the property will also need other improvements including concrete walkways, a developed parking area, and storm water drainage before it will be turned over to the museum.

According to Griggs, workers will begin moving dirt within the next couple of weeks, and work on the farmhouse itself will begin shortly after the new year. In all, Griggs estimates this work will take an additional 12 months, after which the museum will take over and begin furnishing the inside. Then, finally, the museum will be able to welcome visitors to a permanent location.

“This is something that everybody who lives in Bucks County should be proud of,” said County Commissioner Gene DiGirolamo, “and they will be proud of it.”

The museum, when finished, will be the product of years of work by numerous people. “All of you are going to make Bucks County proud,” Salley told the crowd at Wednesday’s groundbreaking.

A gala will be held on Dec. 2 at the Parx East Casino Racetrack to raise funds for the renovations and furnishings at Boone Farm. The African American Museum of Bucks County will also be accepting donations through its website.

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: African American Museum of Bucks County breaks ground in Middletown