Lancaster City Witness Stones Project

As observed in Europe with the Stolperstine or Stumbling Stones Project, placing the markers in the ground makes them virtually impossible to miss. More importantly, bowing one's head to read the name of an enslaved man, woman, or child acknowledges that individual in an extraordinary way. scription text goes here

Some markers related to the colonial period and the republic's early years were installed almost one hundred years ago. These markers tend to focus on a version of American history that ignores the existence of enslaved people living and working in the city. Other more recent additions, like those installed by the African American Walking Tour, a project of the AAHSSCPA, are up-to-date and very informative. The Lancaster City Witness Stones Project will function more granularly by installing a small marker, or "stone," for each enslaved person identified by research and placing it in the ground at or near where they lived and worked.

The Lancaster City Witness Stones initiative is intended to complement the work of other local organizations. The African American Historical Society of South Central PA is the authority on this subject, and Historic Rock Ford has sought their help over the years. They are critical partners in the Witness Stones Project. Representatives of LancasterHistory, the organization responsible for the Thaddeus Stevens and Lydia Hamilton Smith Center in downtown Lancaster, are contributing to the project as advisory committee members. The Witness Stones Project, however, is singularly focused on the individual enslaved people living and working in Lancaster Borough (City) from its earliest settlement until the last person was legally freed from ownership by a city resident. It is contributing to the first chapter of African American History in Lancaster.

Lancaster based organizations like the AAHSSCPA and local scholars know this information best and have provided research and support. The Witness Stones, Inc. organization provides a road-tested framework that has helped to streamline our efforts. Partnering with a regional organization also allow us to contribute to the larger story of northern slavery by joining a growing list of other communities that have adopted the program. Our project relies heavily upon the support and input of local experts and is a collaboration of local organizations dedicated to this work. The Witness Stones Project organization has partnered with communities in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, and New Jersey. Lancaster will be their first partnership in Pennsylvania.

The Witness Stones Project is a member of the Northeast Slavery Records Collaborative. The Collaborative develops and maintains the online searchable Northeast Slavery Records Index that identifies records of enslavement, including those that identify individual enslaved persons and enslavers. Lancaster-based students and historians will be contributing information that will help future scholars better understand the breadth and nature of northern slavery and the underrepresented population of men, women, and children whose forced labor contributed to the foundation of our communities.

Annual marker maintenance and repair are essential to the long-term impact of this project. Funds needed for the upkeep of the stones will be accounted for separately and provided to participating students for annual monitoring and care of the stones that previous classes have installed. Property owners adjacent to sidewalks with Witness Stones will also be encouraged to adopt and care for them. Should the school partner no longer be able to commit to this aspect of the project and no other organization takes control of the LCWSP, Historic Rock Ford will be responsible for hiring or recruiting volunteers to do the work.