Join us for a fun in-person tour exploring Germantown’s rich history of religious freedom!

This two-hour walking tour begins in front of the Germantown Historical Society on Market Square Park and follows Germantown Avenue to the Clivedon Mansion, highlighting the various religious and intellectual groups who were present in early Germantown, including Quakers, Mennonites, Moravians, Methodists, Lutherans, Pietists, mystics, and natural scientists.

This tour will include the site of the Battle of Germantown and an episode during which Benjamin Franklin's militia confronted vigilantes in Germantown to protect the religious freedom and lives of Lenape Moravian converts. Germantown was a site of early abolitionism and an early version of the Underground Railroad, as well as a hub for early American free thinkers and scientists who observed and cataloged the natural order.

Tour Guide: Kime Lawson, professor at Thomas Jefferson University.

Cost: $20 per person. Attendance limited to 20 people.

Tour Begins: in front of the Germantown Historical Society at 5501 Germantown Avenue. It is located on Market Square Park near Uncle Bobbie’s Coffee and Books.

Tour Concludes: at the Clivedon (Benjamin Chew) Mansion near Germantown Ave. and Upsal Street.

How much walking is involved? The length of the tour is just over one mile, but double that if you parked your car at Market Square.

What about parking and transportation? There is typically ample parking near the starting point. The area is also served by SEPTA via the 23 bus and the Germantown stop on the Chestnut Hill East line.

Will be able to enter some of the sites? Possibly! We are hosting these tours on the Second Saturdays when many of the sites are open. We can’t confirm availablity until the day of the tour.