On September 11, 1851, at Christiana, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, the African-American community rose up in arms against attempted enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850. While attempting to save four men from the federal posse charged to re-enslave them, rioters killed the Maryland farmer who was trying to reclaim his "property."
Treason at Christiana, September 11, 1951 The true story of a Battle of Freedom on the Underground Railroad that Rocked the Nation, Threatened Secesion of States from the Union and Brought a Charge of Treason by the Federal Government Against 38 Americans
Monument of granite at Christiana in commemoration of the riot of 1851 and the resultant treason trials. The event known as the "Christiana Resistance" was engendered when southern slave owners came to Lancaster County in search of runaway slaves. Erected in 1911.
Provenance
Album of historical markers erected by the Lancaster County Historical Society, compiled by George L. Heiges in 1986.
The Dr. Levi W. Pownall Collection contains papers and personal documents of Dr. Levi W. Pownall, Eliza Pownall, Sarah Pownall, and the Broomell family.