The Peter Mott House Underground Railroad Museum in South Jersey is reopening after 3 years

The Peter Mott House has weathered 177 years of history, with COVID-19 just the latest blip in its storied past.

After three years of closure, the Lawnside, N.J., home that was a refuge to formerly enslaved people on the Underground Railroad, is reopening to the public this weekend.

Visitors can again tour the rustic property, learning about key 19th-century abolitionists like Harriet Tubman and William Still, “father of the Underground Railroad.” They’ll also get to know Mott, who founded the home in 1845 and helped relocate former slaves safely throughout South Jersey.

“It will be fantastic to see people here again,” said Linda Shockley, president of the Lawnside Historical Society. “This is a story that needs to continue to be told.”

It’s been an uncertain few years for Shockley, who oversees the home-turned-museum. COVID restrictions eliminated indoor tours in March 2020. By the following year, she realized the home would need a lengthy list of repairs before reopening.

To keep Mott’s story alive, Shockley had to get creative.

Last June, for example, they held an educational camp for children on the front lawn, where social distancing was observed. Tucked away at the end of a residential drive, the lawn would also host the historical society’s 32nd anniversary in October. (It was formed in 1990 to protect the home, which was in danger of being demolished.)

Still, visitors couldn’t see the interior that sits frozen in time.

Between two rooms, creaky wooden floorboards and original cabinets practically tell stories themselves. Items from the 1800s, some of them belonging to Still, are displayed behind glass; an ornate set of opera glasses, pocket watch, and revolver among them. Models of clothing worn in the era hang on a coatrack in another room.

It’s Still’s story that Shockley was most eager to tell, given his credit as the Underground Railroad’s father in a 1902 New York Times obituary. Born in Burlington County, Still relocated to Philadelphia and went on to resettle hundreds of freedom seekers in the North, going to great lengths to document their identities in hope of one day reunifying broken families.

Things came full circle in the 1990s. That’s when a direct descendent, Clarence Still, saved the Mott House from destruction by founding the Lawnside Historical Society. He would live to see the property open as a museum in 2001 before he died in 2012.

One upside to the yearslong closure, according to Shockley, was that the downtime allowed for overdue renovations. The back door, which opens toward the rush of the New Jersey Turnpike, was damaged and needed replacing. A new roof was put in, and shutters were repaired, while the white clapboard siding received a fresh coat of paint.

The work was made possible by grants from the New Jersey Historic Trust, which chipped in around $60,000, as well as $30,000 from the Camden County Open Space and Farmland Preservation. Contributions of around $10,000 from private donors also helped, Shockley said.

The museum, located at 26 Kings Court in Lawnside, will be open for walk-in visitors from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday. It will remain open weekends from noon to 3 p.m. Private tours can be booked on the museum’s website. Admission is $10 per adult and $5 per K-12 student. Masks and temperature checks are required upon entry.