YORK, Pa. — 116 East King Street is in York’s Royal Square District.
It’s now home to the Parliament Arts Organization, but the building has a rich history.
It was once the home of Reverend John Hector.
"Reverend Hector fought during the Civil War then he was an A.M.E. pastor with the now small A.M.E. Zion Church," said Samantha Dorm, a volunteer with the Friends of Lebanon Cemetery group.
The East King Street building is one of many historical sites in south central Pennsylvania getting new appreciation through the Chesapeake Mapping Initiative.
“We’re looking at early residential sites where members of the African-American community originally settled. We want to take a look at Underground Railroad sites," said Benjamin Harvey, an architectural historian with the ASC Group.
Harvey is one of the historians leading the project in our region.
But it’s actually a much larger undertaking by not only Pennsylvania, but Maryland and Virginia, along with the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and a few other groups.
“These stories have gone untold for far too long,” said Harvey.
The online project is using crowdsourcing to identify and map out historical sites important to African-American communities, giving them recognition not received in the past.
“I was never into history but when it’s about people who not only look like me, but also are related to me, it brings about a different context with that," said Dorm.
In the time of segregation, 116 East King was also part of the Green Book, a travel guide for African-Americans barred from many businesses.
“When folks like me were looking to travel and didn’t have a safe place to go, they would turn towards that Green Book,” said Dorm.
It’s these kinds of historical tidbits volunteers hope come to light through the project.
The ultimate goal is giving sites like this more recognition through grants and historical markers.
“It’s really simple for me," said Dorm. "If we, the African-American community, don’t tell our stories, who will?"
You can learn more about how to get involved with the Chesapeake Mapping Initiative here.
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