Events: The 2020 Rapha Festive 500 Day Four

(2020) Ride Distance: 32 Miles/ 208 Remain

The year was 1776 and many Americans can recite what happened in the nation at that time. What many might not know is a religious group, the Quakers, thrust themselves into the headlines with a decision that same year. The Quakers discontinued the practice of slavery. The commonwealth of Pennsylvania was well populated by Quakers at the time, and their abolition of slavery created safe havens for those using the Underground Railroad for a chance at freedom.

Our pursuit of the Underground Railroad location in Bucks County for the Rapha Festive 500 continued on the fourth of eight days to cross 500 kilometers by bike. This route moves ahead forty years to 1844 when a mountain of a man inspired area Quakers to go against the status quo. A small distance facing Holicong Mountain, the Buckingham Friends School, a Quaker meetinghouse, housed fugitive slaves. But in 1844 the community went further with their aspirations. A 33-year old fugitive named Benjamin Jones established himself in the Bucks County countryside. His 6’10 build made him difficult to hide from slave hunters. Sure enough, while chopping wood in nearby Wycombe, three men attempted to apprehend him. Jones not only refused, he fought back. Three men was too much and Jones was bound and sent back south.

The attack on Jones echoed through the Quaker community in Bucks County. His injuries were enough to render him useless to plantation owners. Despite this, Jones went up for sale. Here is where the Quakers came to his aid again. Having raised the asking price for Jones, the Quakers paid the fee for him, making him a free man. Jones returned to Bucks County to marry and ultimately died outside of Doylestown. 

The Wycombe train station that once accessed New Hope, PA. Recent restoration efforts to reconnect New Hope-Buckingham-Wycombe have seen advancements.

Today’s ride passed by the locations mentioned in Jones’ story during his time in Bucks County. Just outside the tourist spot of Peddler's Village is the very meetinghouse that lobbied for his purchase from slavery. Today the meeting house is Buckinghams Friends School, and they are very proud of their tradition. Meandering down the easily missed Byecroft, around Holicong Mountain to Pineville, the route entered the forgotten hamlet of Wycombe where Jones was captured after his fight. The town itself seems to have missed out on its calling, possibly a side effect of the New Hope railroad’s discontinued train line. Lately work has reestablished the train line near Wycombe, a direct line from one Underground Railroad location to another.

Once through Wycombe the route headed north via Forest Grove Road, today heavily traveled. Should one take any of the western turns, one could access Almshouse Road. At its terminus is where Benjamin Jones died in 1875. Due to its purpose as a major thoroughfare this idea was not entertained. Instead, old wagon roads sandwiched between major bypasses were selected. Here many pedestrians were out due to the peaceful roads.

It is humbling that Bucks County has many links to the country’s history. Signers of the Declaration either came from here or passed through. The Liberty Bell was housed here on its trip to Philadelphia. What is neglected are the stories of the Pennsylvania Quakers who first denounced slavery then fought aggressively to rid the countryside of it. The three rides so far in the Rapha Festive 500 have visited identical places. There is a good reason for that. The central Bucks region was very active in spiriting fleeing slaves to safety from one Underground location to the next.