Underground Railroad Leader William Still to Feature in Speaker Series
October 30, 2025
The Glenview Mansion and Peerless Rockville Speaker Series will host a presentation on Thursday, Nov. 13, at Glenview Mansion, 603 Edmonston Drive. Andrew K. Diemer of Temple University will discuss his book “Vigilance: The Life of William Still, Father of the Underground Railroad.” The event begins at 7 p.m. and is free and open to the public.
Still was a key figure in Philadelphia’s Underground Railroad network, helping hundreds of enslaved people escape to freedom. Among them was Ann Maria Weems, a young girl from Rockville who fled slavery in 1855 with the help of Still’s network and passed through Philadelphia on her way to Canada.
The event is part of a co-sponsored speaker series held Thursday evenings at Glenview Mansion. Light refreshments will be served. Seating is limited. Register using course #36326 at rockvillemd.gov/registration.
Peerless Rockville will host two events Saturday, Nov. 1, to mark Maryland Emancipation Day.
At 10 a.m., Stephen A. Goldman will speak at the Red Brick Courthouse on “The Maryland 1864 Constitution: A Border State’s Soldiers Stand for Freedom.” He will discuss how Maryland, the only state to abolish slavery through the state constitution, relied on the support of soldiers, whose ballots helped end slavery on Nov. 1, 1864.
At 1 p.m., local historians Ralph Buglass and Chiquita Sorrels will lead a walking tour of downtown Rockville’s African American heritage sites. The tour explores the stories of enslaved people who fled to freedom and the newly emancipated, and the rise of Black communities during segregation. The tour begins at the Red Brick Courthouse. Registration is required. Cost is $15 per person.
The Red Brick Courthouse is located at 29 Courthouse Square. Visit peerlessrockville.org/events for information.