Quest for Freedom - Pittsburgh North

Citizens Library
55 South College Street
Washington, PA 15301
Phone: 724-222-2400
Labor Day through June, Monday – Thursday, 9:30 a.m. – 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 9:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. Sunday, 2 – 5 p.m. See website for additional hours.

Dr. Francis J. LeMoyne, a leading citizen of this area in the 19th century, founded citizens Library in 1870. Housing a rich collection, Citizens Library’s mission is to provide the resources to enrich, inform, and educate the public and is a key resource to the early history of Washington County. Until 1965, when the new building was dedicated, Citizens was located in the Town Hall for which President Ulysses S. Grant laid the cornerstone in 1869.

Senator John Heinz History Center
1212 Smallman Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
Phone: 412-454-6000
Open daily, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Library & Archives, Tuesday – Saturday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

The History Center’s Points in Time exhibit includes information about the Underground Railroad, including displays and exhibits a timeline of African-American history in Western PA. The History Center’s Underground Railroad: Journey to Freedom tour examines the institutionalization and economy of slavery, the rise of abolitionist activism, and the roots of the Underground Railroad. Important underground routes through the region, conductors on the railroad, and notable historical sites are also presented.

The LeMoyne House
49 East Maiden Street
Washington, PA 15301
Phone: 724-225-6740
Tuesday – Friday, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. Saturday for group tours (20 or more) by appointment only. The Research Library is open Tuesday – Friday, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.

The LeMoyne House, in the City of Washington, is Pennsylvania’s first National Historic Landmark of the Underground Railroad. It was built in 1812 by John Julius LeMoyne, the father of Francis Julius LeMoyne, the successful 19th-century doctor, reformer and builder of the first crematory in the western hemisphere. He opened his home and properties as stops along the Underground Railroad as they trudged north on their precarious journey to Canada and freedom.