Month: September 2023

Underground Railroad Walking Tour

CROSSROADS TO FREEDOM WALKING TOUR
CECILTON – SEPT, 24, 2023 @ 1 p.m.
WALKING TOUR FOR INTERNATIONAL UNDERGROUND RAILROAD
MONTH
ABOUT ONE HOUR
FREE

For International Underground Railroad Month, enjoy this walk through Cecilton as we explore the story of the Underground Railroad in the land between the Bohemia and Sassafras rivers. During the casual Sunday stroll in a fine historic community, gain an understanding of the area in the antebellum period, hear about freedom seekers from southern Cecil County, and visit Union Bethel AME Church, a historic house of worship.

As we explore the Crossroads to Freedom on this Underground Railroad walking tour, we will consider residents’ experiences in the mid-19th century while highlighting some of the local people in the decades leading to emancipation. These include Edward Richardson and his flight to freedom in New Jersey, Bishop Levi J. Coppin, and Private George Douglass, a Civil War Soldier.

The free tour, led by Mike Dixon, starts at the town hall., 117 West Main Street. To reserve your space, register by calling the town at 410-275-2692
This walking tour is brought to you by the Town of Cecilton, Union Bethel AME Church, and Cecil County Tourism.

Note: This is the rescheduled Cecilton tour. 

Underground Railroad Walking Tour

Prohibition in New Jersey – A Talk at the Avalon History Center

I am pleased to be at the Avalon Library on Saturday, September 16, 2023, at 3:00 p.m. to explore the fascinating subject of temperance and prohibition in New Jersey. This talk, part of the Avalon History Center’s speakers series, will shed light on the region’s unique perspective on the centuries-long effort to control and regulate alcohol consumption while placing it in a national context.

During the lecture, we will delve into compelling stories of rumrunners, moonshiners, bathtub gin, Coast Guard rum patrols, and the intriguing personalities that emerged during this era. We will also navigate the intricate landscape of Garden State politics, organized crime, and the influential role of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union.

Understanding the growing interest in this captivating period, I am excited to discuss these matters with particular consideration for the New Jersey context.

The program will be held at the Tennis Building at 250 39th St., Avalon, NJ. Remember to mark your calendar for Saturday, September 16, 2023, at 3:00 p.m.

For more information on this free program, please visit the History Center link on the Visit Avalon NJ website. I look forward to this engaging discussion as we examine and consider intriguing insights into the prohibition in New Jersey.

Bring Back Beer; end prohibition
1932 beer parade in Detroit, Michigan (Detroit News Photo, Walter P. Reuther Library, Archives of Labor and Urban Affairs, Wayne State University)

Professor Michael Dixon – History With Purpose

From WilmU, the magazine of Wilmington University

Wilmington University Adjunct History Professor Michael Dixon is deeply committed to studying local and regional history. His passion, he says, is ignited when he shares his knowledge with students and the community.

Fortified by graduate degrees in History and Behavioral Sciences, Dixon brings his extensive research and love of history to the classroom. He’s also a visiting scholar for several humanities councils and other organizations.

As my students engage in active learning activities in these practical lessons, it helps them understand how the past connects with the present,”

Professor Michael Dixon

His research focuses mainly on Mid-Atlantic regional and local history. He has worked extensively over three decades to encourage public interest and participation in preserving the area’s past and creating an understanding between earlier eras and the present. His work also focused on African American history, with topics such as the role of African American physicians before the Civil Rights Movement, the struggle for social justice that took place mainly during the 1950s, and a current examination of health care before the passage of the Civil Rights Acts of the 1960s. He also has offered a discussion about the Jim Crow era and the Spanish Influenza of 1918, which swept the country and devastated America’s Black communities.

The article continues on WilmU, the official magazine of Wilmington University.

history professor michael dixon
Michael Dixon, in WilmU, the magazine of Wilmington University (Spring 2023, WilmU Magazine)