The original settler of Brownsville was William “Batavia” Brown, a man kidnapped from his home in Indonesia and brought to Baltimore, Maryland, to be sold into slavery. Before his sale, a group of farmers hid him and helped him escape to Franklin County, Pennsylvania. He chose to remain in the area, and in the 1820s, he and his wife Rachel built a cabin and raised a family at the base of South Mountain.

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In the subsequent years, other formerly enslaved people joined them in the remote settlement that expanded after the opening of Thaddeus Stevens’ Caledonia Iron Works in 1837. By the 1840s, it became an active station on the Underground Railroad. Brownsville resident cooperated with antislavery men such as Robert Black and Caledonia Iron Works superintendent William Hammett.

 

In the years before the Civil War, Underground Railroad conductor Hiram Wertz guided 45 to 50 runaway slaves from his family’s farm in Quincy Township to Africa-Brownsville. The secluded African American community became a safe haven on the dangerous journey north to freedom.

 

In 1863, Confederate forces destroyed the Caledonia Iron Works, eliminating the major source of jobs for Brownsville residents. Nevertheless, Brownsville endured.

 

Around 1870, an itinerant minister named Perry Stanton of the Eastern PA Conference Churches of God came to the area and helped to establish a congregation. The Churches of God was founded by John Winebrenner who became very active in the Anti-Slavery Society of Harrisburg in January 1836. Today, the Brownsville Church of God is a member in the Eastern Region of the Churches of God General Conference. 

 

Originally, the congregants met in homes and outdoors. In 1878, the church bought land for its first building and cemetery. John A. Brown, a descendant of William and Rachel Brown and a Civil War veteran, served as the congregation’s minister in the 1870s and 1880s.

 

A century later, the congregation raised a new church alongside where the old church stood, and then in 2015 moved to its present home on Lincoln Highway East. The church’s historic cemetery established in 1878 still stands on its original site.

Historical Milestones

• 1820s: William “Batavia” Brown and Rachel Brown settle the area that will become known as Africa and Brownsville

• 1837: Thaddeus Stevens establishes the Caledonia Iron Works, providing additional opportunities for areas residents.

• 1840-1850s: Africa / Brownsville is an active station on the Underground Railroad. Hiram Wertz leads dozens of freedom seekers to the community from his home in Quincy, Pennsylvania.

• 1863: Confederate troops destroy the Caledonia Iron Works.

• 1870s: Itinerant Minister Perry Stanton establishes a Church of God congregation in Brownsville. Congregants meet outdoors and in homes.

• 1878: Congregation purchases land for a church and cemetery.

• 1970s: Congregation constructs a new church building in Brownsville.

• 2015: Church moves to new building on Lincoln Highway.

• 2025: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission awards a state historical marker to be erected at the cemetery commemorating the Underground Railroad station in Africa / Brownsville.

• 2026: Brownsville is added to the National Park Service’s Underground Railroad Network to Freedom.

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Veterans Honor Roll

The historic Brownsville Church of God Cemetery is the final resting place for at least sixteen veterans of the United States armed forces who served in the Civil War, World War One, World War Two, and Vietnam. This includes five men who served with the United States Colored Troops in the Civil War: John A. Brown, Thomas Butler, Albert Lane, George Loudon, and Albert John Pickens.

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Every Memorial Day, volunteers place flags on all the veterans’ graves to honor their sacrifice.

 

There are also additional Civil War veterans laid to rest in Brownsville in the Raimer / Gumby Farm Cemetery and Carter Family Cemetery.

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Help Us to Restore and Preserve the Brownsville Church of God Cemetery.

Click here to learn how you can get involved.

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