As the only African American incorporated municipality above the Mason-Dixon Line, Lawnside, NJ was a haven to people of African descent since colonial times.
Some residents can still trace their lineage to shrewd people who purchased their freedom, were manumitted or escaped here through the secret network of abolitionists known as the Underground Railroad.
Programs like the UGRR Camp empower our residents to defend preservation of the town and its unique place in the history of New Jersey.
This summer the Peter Mott House hosted the first ever Underground Railroad Camp, through grants from the Camden County Cultural and Heritage Commission and the New Jersey Council for the Humanities from the National Endowment for the Humanities through the American Rescue Plan Act.