From the Gettysburg Times Feb 18
By Liz Caples Times Staff Writer
The Gettysburg Black History Trail invites visitors to see a familiar town through a different lens by tracing stories of African Americans whose experiences are essential to understanding Gettysburg and Adams County, especially during Black History Month.
The trail includes 13 locations that “paint a picture of Gettysburg’s diverse people, places and stories,” according to Mary Grace Kauffman, media relations manager at Destination Gettysburg.
The trail blends major Black history sites with key interpretive stops, highlighting how the experiences and contributions of the Black community are an integral part of Gettysburg’s story, according to Kauffman.
“Black history is often overlooked, but it is history. You can’t tell the story of Gettysburg without its Black history,” Kauffman said.
Trail followers can download a free digital “passport” to their mobile devices at http://www.BlackHistoryTrail.com, which guides them from site to site and shares background on local figures such as Basil Biggs, Abraham Brian, and Margaret “Mag” Palm.
“The tour is entirely self-guided, and there is no specific order users have to follow. They can go at their own pace and start at any location,” Kauffman said.
Although exploring the trail is free, some museums charge an admission fee. Visitors who use the passport will receive a 15% discount on admission to participating museums along the trail, she said.
After visiting one of the museums, users can pick up a reflective journal with thought-provoking prompts for each stop on the trail, Kauffman added.
In 2025, new audio components were added to the digital passport to improve accessibility and deepen storytelling, she said.
Once someone visits all 13 locations on the trail, they are eligible for a guided tour of Lincoln Cemetery, Gettysburg’s only surviving Black cemetery, with Jean Howard-Green, president of the Lincoln Cemetery Project Association, Kauffman said.
“We hope this trail will encourage people to explore and learn more about Black history in Adams County and Gettysburg,” Kauffman said.
The trail combines museums, churches, historic homes, and outdoor sites within the borough and surrounding countryside. The 13 locations are:
• Abraham Brian Farm, Hancock Avenue (Abraham Brian Farm, located in Gettysburg National Military Park).
• Gettysburg Beyond the Battle Museum, 625 Biglerville Road.
• Gettysburg Lincoln Railroad Station: Ticket to the Past – Unforgettable Journeys, 35 Carlisle St.
• Gettysburg National Military Park Museum & Visitor Center, 1195 Baltimore Pike.
• Gettysburg National Cemetery, 97 Taneytown Road (located in Gettysburg National Military Park).
• The Jack & Julia Hopkins House, 219 South Washington St.
• Lincoln Cemetery, intersection of Lincoln and Long lanes.
• Seminary Ridge Museum and Education Center, 111 Seminary Ridge.
• St. Paul AME Zion Church, 269 South Washington St.
• Thad’s Place: Home of the Thaddeus Stevens Museum, 46 Chambersburg St.
• James Warfield House, 60–114 Millerstown Road (located in Gettysburg National Military Park).
• Agricultural Hall, intersection of West High Street and Franklin Street.
• Franklin Street Colored School, intersection of West High Street and Franklin Street.
Launched in 2024, the Gettysburg Black History Trail was created through a collaborative partnership between several local organizations, including Gettysburg History, the former Gettysburg Black History Museum (now Gettysburg History’s Gettysburg Black History Committee), Gettysburg Foundation, Gettysburg National Military Park, the Lincoln Cemetery Project Association, Seminary Ridge Historic Preservation Foundation, Thaddeus Stevens Society, and Destination Gettysburg, according to the Destination Gettysburg website.
Readers may contact Liz Caples at ecaples@gettysburgtimes.com.