Wrightsville, PA – The Shapiro Administration commemorated Juneteenth at the historic Mifflin Farm in York County, where community members participated in a guided hike and paddle tracing the journey of freedom seekers along the Underground Railroad while highlighting the Administration's investment in the future Susquehanna Discovery Center and Heritage Park.
Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn joined the Susquehanna National Heritage Area (SNHA), African American Historical Society of South Central Pennsylvania, Bethel AME’s Living the Experience, and the Lower Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association for Juneteenth programming celebrating the site's significance in Pennsylvania and American history.
“This site is integral to telling the story of Pennsylvania’s fight to end slavery while bringing that history to life for a new generation of visitors,” said Secretary Dunn. “As we celebrate Juneteenth, we’re reminded that freedom was not experienced equally by all Americans, and preserving places like this helps future generations better understand our past while inspiring a stronger future."
The event also highlighted the Shapiro Administration's continued investment in preserving one of Pennsylvania's most significant Underground Railroad sites and transforming it into a destination for education, recreation, and heritage tourism.
The 79-acre Mifflin Farm is a documented Underground Railroad site and the location of a pivotal Civil War battle. Through the Susquehanna National Heritage Area, DCNR invested $2.1 million to conserve the property and support its transformation into the future Susquehanna Discovery Center and Heritage Park over the next decade. Additional investments from the Department of Community and Economic Development, the York County Commissioners, the National Park Service, The Conservation Fund, local organizations, private donors, and community members helped open the site to the public in 2025 for the first time in more than two centuries.
The Susquehanna National Heritage Area is planning a discovery center and heritage park featuring walking trails that interpret the Underground Railroad and the Civil War battle in Wrightsville, a pivotal event in the 1863 Gettysburg Campaign. Once complete, the site will also include a museum showcasing an extraordinary collection of Susquehanna River art, bringing to life the region's rich cultural, natural, and historical heritage.
Friday's events included a roundtable discussion led by DCNR Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Director Arlene Marshall-Hockensmith and screening of the 1989 film Glory, which dramatizes the story of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, one of the first official African American regiments in the Union Army that included hundreds of Pennsylvanians. On Saturday, Secretary Dunn joined participants for a guided hike and paddle following the approximate route used by freedom seekers traveling between Wrightsville and Columbia. At the conclusion of the paddle, the Lancaster County Commissioners presented a Juneteenth proclamation to SNHA officials.
Observed annually on June 19, Juneteenth marks the day in 1865 when news of emancipation reached enslaved people in Galveston, Texas—more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed. Today, it is recognized as a celebration of freedom, resilience, and African American history and culture.
“The Mifflin House is a beacon of cultural significance in this region, serving as a touchstone for the broader narrative of our nation’s history,” said Mark Platts, President and CEO of the Susquehanna National Heritage Area. “We are grateful to all of our partners who joined us today to tell freedom seekers’ stories and bring to life a snapshot of what the journey to freedom entailed.”
To further elevate the site's historical significance, the Susquehanna National Heritage Area has formed an Underground Railroad Work Group. Comprised of local historians and community members, the group is developing a research-based visitor experience within the historic Mifflin House, which served as an Underground Railroad station from the early 1800s through the 1840s.
DCNR’s Bureau of Recreation and Conservation administers the Pennsylvania Heritage Areas Program. Heritage areas operate in 57 of the Commonwealth’s 67 counties.
Heritage areas are important historical and cultural regions that help make Pennsylvania: The Great American Getaway, with a wealth of places to visit and stories to learn about the state. According to the Center for Rural Pennsylvania's most recent report on the Economic Impact of Pennsylvania Heritage Areas:
- Tourists spent an estimated 7.5 million days and nights in Pennsylvania’s Heritage Areas, purchasing more than $2 billion worth of goods and services,
- 70 percent of this spending was purely reliant on heritage-related attractions, and
- The total contribution of heritage visitor spending to the state economy was 25,708 jobs and $798 million in labor income.
Visit DCNR’s website to learn more about heritage conservation and check out DCNR’s Calendar of Events for happenings on public lands.
Video with remarks from Secretary Dunn and Mark Platts is available here. Additional photos of the events are available upon request to werobinson@pa.gov.
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