African American Museum of Bucks County shaping up. Fundraising, construction continues

The African American Museum of Bucks County has searched for a place to call home for 10 years. It's fitting that its new home will be on the land where so many other stories began.

The museum is currently under construction on Boone Farm, a significant, historic farm located in Bucks County's Core Creek Park in Middletown, and a vital stop on the Underground Railroad in the 1800s.

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

"The project is special to me because we are essentially taking a 17th-century farmhouse and restoring it as if it were new," said Bucks County Project and Diversity Officer Bernard Griggs. "What it will mean for Bucks County is having the first-ever museum to showcase and educate people not only on African-American history, but particularly about what happened in Bucks County."

There are two phases to the project to rehabilitate Boone Farm for the African American Museum in Bucks County. The first phase began in 2022 and includes restoring the facade and completing interior construction. It should be complete by late spring.

In the second phase, the interior of the building will be further built out by the nonprofit museum, which was incorporated in 2014, but has never had a physical building and permanent home of its own for its many exhibits and artifacts.

"That building was closed up and nothing had been done to it for decades," Griggs said of the agreement between the county and the nonprofit to repurpose the farmhouse as a museum. "It was a major undertaking for the museum to take on as a whole. So it being a county-owned building, we thought it was our responsibility to take care of the core and shell.

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

In a presentation before the Bucks County Board of Commissioners last week, Bill Reed, board member and vice president of the African American Museum of Bucks County, said although phase one is nearing completion, there is still much work to be done.

"In order to occupy the building, a tremendous amount of work is required. In order to raise the funds, the African-American Museum has kicked off a capital campaign in the fall of 2023 to raise $2 million in 2024 to complete the work," Reed said. "We need the support of everyone to reach our goal."

Since its founding, the museum has displayed numerous artifacts, shared history, contributions and accomplishments of African Americans in Bucks County, Reed said.

History of Boone Farm, home of future museum

Boone Farm, one of the most historic properties in the county, includes the 1716 Godfrey Kirk farmhouse that is one of the oldest surviving homes in Bucks County.

Museum moves to mMiddletown: African-American Museum of Bucks County to move to county farmhouse in Middletown

Boone Farm has historical ties to the Great Migration of the 20th century, during which six million African Americans moved out of rural Southern states to Northern areas such as Pennsylvania in search of economic opportunity, according to the National Archives.

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