Dinner at the University and Whist Club
Celebrating Thomas Garrett
October 30, 2025 • 6:00pm Reception, 7:00 Dinner
We annually celebrate the memory of our great Underground Railroad stationmaster Thomas Garrett with a dinner at the University and Whist Club. This year’s dinner will be on October 30, 2025, reception at 6:00pm and dinner at 7:00pm. In addition to being an entertaining and enlightening evening, it is our major fundraiser to support our educational programs and free events, largely geared towards children.
This year’s speaker will be Congresswoman Sarah McBride. Like Garrett, who with Harriet Tubman blazed a trail for human rights by conducting hundreds of enslaved human beings through Quaker Hill in Wilmington, Delaware to freedom, Sarah is blazing her own trail for human rights in Congress.
A highlight of the evening is presentation of our “Bob” Seeley Award. Seeley, a descendant of Thomas Garrett, has worked tirelessly to promote the memory of his magnificent ancestor. This year’s award will be presented to Debra Campagnari Martin, city planner and Underground Railroad Coalition founder.
For more information please email: office@quakerhillhistoric.org or call 302-655-2500.
View Event Invitation
John Dickinson: Penman of the Revolution
Always striving to maximize impact, TELEDUCTION took the idea for a short orientation video for the historic John Dickinson Mansion and expanded it into a multi-version program that included a ten minute video for site visitors, a three-minute public awareness tool to aid in tourism, and a thirty-minute historical documentary for public television broadcast. Using our expertise in writing, research, and historic reenactment, we crafted an in-depth exploration of one of the nation’s founding fathers.
Whispers of Angels
TELEDUCTION’s historical docudrama about heroism and the Underground Railroad has aired nationally on PBS. Featuring Edward Asner as Thomas Garrett and Blair Underwood as William Still.
The Quaker Hill Historic Preservation Foundation is a nonprofit organization established in 1992 to aid in the restoration and preservation of the Quaker Hill Historic District in Wilmington, Delaware.
The district dates back to the early 18th century, when Quakers such as William Shipley and Thomas West built the first residences in the area. During the Revolutionary War, Washington and Lafayette were quartered on Quaker Hill. Among those buried at Wilmington Friends Meeting are John Dickinson, signer of the Constitution, and Thomas Garrett, an abolitionist who worked with William Still and Harriet Tubman to conduct thousands of slaves to freedom.
Quaker Hill has been home to countless people who have dedicated their lives to improving the community and society at large. In this tradition, the Foundation strives to foster a growing appreciation of the rich social history and unique architecture of Wilmington’s oldest residential neighborhood.
Visit with us for a weekend and explore what the Quaker Hill Historic District and the state of Delaware have to offer!
Contribute to The Quaker Hill Historic Preservation Foundation
Join or Renew Your Membership, or Make a Contribution
Dear Friend of Quaker Hill,
Quaker Hill, the magnificent Federal Register Historic District in Wilmington Delaware tells the glorious story of America. Since its establishment in 1738 by a few Quaker families, it continues to be a resource of great architecture from Colonial through Georgian, Federal, Greek Revival, Victorian and even some Modern styles.
However, Quaker Hill is much more than a conglomeration of historic buildings. John Dickinson, the great founding father, known as the penman of the Articles of Confederation and author of parts of today’s Constitution, attended the Friends Meeting and lies in repose in the Meeting’s cemetery. George Washington had a Headquarters in Quaker Hill in the late summer of 1777 apparently visited by Marquis de Lafayette.
The true greatness of America is reflected in the endeavors of a runaway slave working with a well-to -do merchant to conduct hundreds of enslaved human beings to freedom on the Underground Railroad. That runaway slave was Harriet Tubman and that well-to do merchant was our own Thomas Garrett, the great Stationmaster of the Underground Railroad that ran right through his home in Quaker Hill.
Investing in Quaker Hill is investing in one of America’s historical treasures. We would be deeply grateful if you would join or renew your membership/contribution to the Quaker Hill Historic Preservation Foundation as it will assist us in our mission of raising historical awareness and preserving heritage of Quaker Hill through educational programs, lectures and tours that the public can enjoy. Please pay by scanning the QR code below, or clicking here.
Thank you so much for your kind support!
All the best!
Yours Sincerely,
Bayard Marin, JD, PhD
President
Quaker Hill Historic Preservation Foundation