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Archive

https://collections.lancasterhistory.org/en/permalink/1287a022-e430-4f3f-bc97-330571018105
Collection
Christiana Resistance Collection
Title
Christiana Resistance Collection
Object ID
CHRISTIANA RESISTANCE
Date Range
1803-1971
Christiana Resistance Collection, 1803-1971 1 box 37 folders, 54 items, 263 scans .5 cubic feet Repository: Moores Memorial Library 9 West Slokom Avenue Christiana, PA 17509 chrlib@christianalibrary.org www.christianalibrary.org Scope and Content Note: The Christiana Resistance, commonly referred
More detail
  1 document  
Collection
Christiana Resistance Collection
Title
Christiana Resistance Collection
Description
The Christiana Resistance, commonly referred to as the "Christiana Riot," occurred in September of 1851 in Christiana, Pennsylvania, a borough in Lancaster County. The events known as the Christiana Resistance include an attack from slaveholders in Maryland on the inhabitants and home of William Parker (1821-1891), a free Black man living in Christiana, Pennsylvania. The slaveholders crossed the state border, and attempted claim and return the Freedom Seekers as their property, under the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.
The violent confrontation resulted in the death of Edward Gorsuch, a slaveholder, and the escape of William Parker to freedom in Canada. Edward's son, Dickinson Gorsuch, was
wounded and taken to the farm of Levi Pownall, where the Pownall family nursed him back to health. Historically, this event challenged the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 and is considered a
precursor to the Civil War.
The collection contains 2 distinct series: documents and photographs, from 1803-1971. Documents include: land drafts and deeds, correspondence to and from the Pownall family regarding the incident, notes regarding kidnappings in the area from 1850-1851, photocopied pages of Dickinson Gorsuch's diary, and published accounts of the event, memorializations, announcements and a radio drama related to or inspired by the Christiana Resistance event of 1851.
Contained in the photograph series are photographs of: the event place and places related to the Christiana Resistance, the Pownall farm, event monuments, daguerreotypes of key figures and survivors of the resistance.
Moores Memorial Library (Christiana, Pa.) owns some of the most significant manuscript material relating to the Christiana Resistance. The staff of Moores Memorial Library, part of the Library System of Lancaster County, and the Lancaster County Historical Society worked together to arrange and preserve the collection and create a finding aid to make the materials accessible to the public.
Funds for this project were provided by the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) in 2001.
Admin/Biographical History
The Christiana Resistance, commonly referred to as the "Christiana Riot" occurred in September of 1851 in Christiana, Pennsylvania, a borough in Lancaster County. The events known as the Christiana Resistance include an attack from slaveholders in Maryland on the inhabitants and home of William Parker a free Black man living in Christiana, Pennsylvania. The slaveholders crossed the state border, and attempted claim and return the freedom seekers as their property, under the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.
The violent confrontation resulted in the death of Edward Gorsuch, a slaveholder, and the escape of William Parker to freedom in Canada. Edward's son, Dickinson Gorsuch, was wounded and taken to the farm of Levi Pownall, where the Pownall family nursed him back to health. Historically, this event challenged the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 and is considered a precursor to the Civil War.
System of Arrangement
Series 1 Manuscript and Printed Material, 1803-1955
Series 2 Photographs, 1895-1971 and No date
Date Range
1803-1971
Year Range From
1803
Year Range To
1971
Date of Accumulation
1803-1971
Creator
Moores Memorial Library
Storage Location
Moores Memorial Library, Christiana, PA
Subjects
Riots--Pennsylvania--Christiana
Christiana (Pa.)
Search Terms
Christiana Resistance
Extent
1 box, 37 folders, .5 cubic ft.
Physical Characteristics
The digital images of the manuscript and printed material are 300 dpi JPGs; the photographs are 600 dpi JPGs.
Object Name
Archive
Language
English
Object ID
CHRISTIANA RESISTANCE
Location of Originals
Moores Memorial Library
9 West Slokom Avenue
Christiana, PA 17509
chrlib@christianalibrary.org
610-593-6683 or 610-593-6687
Access Conditions / Restrictions
The attached images have been provided for research. The original items are restricted for preservation purposes.
Copyright
The attached images may be used for research purposes only.
Please contact Moores Memorial Library for high resolution images and permission to publish:
Moores Memorial Library
9 West Slokom Avenue
Christiana, PA 17509
chrlib@christianalibrary.org
610-593-6683 or 610-593-6687
Credit
Christiana Resistance Collection, Series #, Folder #, Moores Memorial Library
Classification
CHRISTIANA RESISTANCE
Description Level
Fonds
Custodial History
Moores Memorial Library (Christiana, Pa.) owns some of the most significant manuscript material relating to the Christiana Resistance. The staff of Moores Memorial Library, part of the Library System of Lancaster County, and the Lancaster County Historical Society worked together to arrange and preserve the collection and create a finding aid to make the materials accessible to the public.
The collection contains correspondence to and from the Pownall family regarding the incident, notes regarding kidnappings in the area from 1850-1851, photocopied pages of Dickinson Gorsuch's diary, and published accounts. An 1896 photograph shows Peter Woods and Samuel Hopkins, survivors of the riot. There are also photographs of the Christiana Riot House, the Pownall farm, and key figures in the riot and at the Treason Trials of 1851.
The staff of Moores Memorial Library, part of the Library System of Lancaster County, and the Lancaster County Historical Society worked together to arrange and preserve the collection and create a finding aid to make the materials accessible to the public. Funds for this project were provided by the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) in 2001.
Documents
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Finding Aid

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Print, Photographic

https://collections.lancasterhistory.org/en/permalink/fcb9fbe7-104b-4521-a300-813011155720
Collection
Christiana Resistance Collection
Title
Christiana Riot House
Object ID
Christiana S02 F05
Date Range
1896
More detail
  7 images  
Object Name
Print, Photographic
Collection
Christiana Resistance Collection
Title
Christiana Riot House
Description
Ruins of the "Christiana Riot House"
Insert 1 Ruins of the "Christiana Riot House." [1896, 1898].
Insert 2 Ruins of the "Christiana Riot House" with the Pownall farm in the background. [1896, 1898].
Insert 3 The Pownall farm. 1971. (Photograph owned in 1990 by Ms. C. Ammon of Christiana)
Date Range
1896
Year Range From
1896
Year Range To
1971
Storage Location
Moores Memorial Library, Christiana, PA
People
Pownall, Levi
Subject
Riots--Pennsylvania--Christiana
Christiana (Pa.)
Photographs
Historical markers
Classification
CHRISTIANA RESISTANCE
Christiana S02 F05
Search Terms
Christiana Resistance
Christiana, Pennsylvania
Historical markers
Place
Christiana
Object Name
Print, Photographic
Object ID
Christiana S02 F05
Notes
The attached images have been provided for research. The original items are restricted for preservation purposes. The digital images of the manuscript and printed material are 300 dpi JPGs; the photographs are 600 dpi JPGs.
Please contact Moores Memorial Library for a high resolution image and permission to publish:
Moores Memorial Library
9 West Slokom Avenue
Christiana, PA 17509
chrlib@christianalibrary.org
610-593-6683 or 610-593-6687
The digital master files are stored at LancasterHistory.
LancasterHistory
230 N. President Ave
Lancaster, PA 17603
archives@lancasterhistory.org
(717) 392-4633
Funds for this project were provided by the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) in 2001.
Credit
Christiana Resistance Collection, Series 2, Folder 5, Moores Memorial Library
Images
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Print, Photographic

https://collections.lancasterhistory.org/en/permalink/7ecea153-d8ea-42b1-8039-098769352101
Collection
Christiana Resistance Collection
Title
Gorsuch Tavern
Object ID
Christiana S02 F14
Date Range
1971
More detail
  5 images  
Object Name
Print, Photographic
Collection
Christiana Resistance Collection
Title
Gorsuch Tavern
Description
Gorsuch Tavern, Hereford, Maryland. [1971].
"At '19 Mile Stone' on York Road built in 1810 by Capt. Joshua Gorsuch, a shipbuilder. The tavern was the meeting place of the Baltimore Countians who went to Pennsylvania to reclaim their slaves. Thus bringing on the Christiana Riot of 1851."
Date Range
1971
Storage Location
Moores Memorial Library, Christiana, PA
People
Gorsuch, Joshua
Subject
Riots--Pennsylvania--Christiana
Christiana (Pa.)
Photographs
Taverns (Inns)
Classification
CHRISTIANA RESISTANCE
Christiana S02 F14
Search Terms
Christiana Resistance
Christiana, Pennsylvania
Taverns
Inns
Historical markers
Place
Hereford, Maryland
Object Name
Print, Photographic
Object ID
Christiana S02 F14
Notes
The attached images have been provided for research. The original items are restricted for preservation purposes. The digital images of the manuscript and printed material are 300 dpi JPGs; the photographs are 600 dpi JPGs.
Please contact Moores Memorial Library for a high resolution image and permission to publish:
Moores Memorial Library
9 West Slokom Avenue
Christiana, PA 17509
chrlib@christianalibrary.org
610-593-6683 or 610-593-6687
The digital master files are stored at LancasterHistory.
LancasterHistory
230 N. President Ave
Lancaster, PA 17603
archives@lancasterhistory.org
(717) 392-4633
Funds for this project were provided by the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) in 2001.
Credit
Christiana Resistance Collection, Series 2, Folder 14, Moores Memorial Library
Images
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