Celebrate Black History Month with an exhibit and virtual presentation on the Underground Railroad in Rockville.
“Forging Freedom: Endurance, Escape, and Rockville’s Underground Railroad” is an exhibit on the story of Rockville in the era of the Underground Railroad, when slavery cast a shadow over life in this farming town. Learn about the brave fugitives who fled slavery in Rockville, the abolitionist network that helped and the endurance of the enslaved community.
Visit the exhibit in the Red Brick Courthouse, at 29 Courthouse Square, from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Mondays (except for Presidents Day, Feb. 20, when it will be closed), Wednesdays and Thursdays. A self-guided walking tour brochure of sites featured in the exhibit is also available. Then, join Peerless on Zoom at noon, Wednesday, Feb. 22 for an online presentation. The event is free, but registration is requested at www.eventbrite.com/e/forging-freedom-endurance-and-escape-on-rockvilles-underground-railroad-tickets-522937007667. On registering, you will receive the link to the Zoom broadcast.
Save the date for Thursday, March 9 as the Glenview Mansion and Peerless Rockville Speaker Series presents “Women Who Dared: Pioneering Rockville Mother and Daughter,” at 7 p.m. at Glenview Mansion at Rockville Civic Center Park.
Hear the inspirational stories of Clara Finley and her daughter Bliss Finley, Rockville residents who did not let the restrictions placed on women by late 19th- and early 20th-century society hold them back. Clara was a divorced mother with a young child who attended medical school and became a pioneering doctor and supporter of women’s rights and childhood education. Bliss was prominently featured in society columns as a young woman. As she matured, she used her connections to help organize and inspire working women to stand up for the right to vote.
The program is free but registration is required. Register at www.eventbrite.com/e/women-who-dared-pioneering-rockville-mother-and-daughter-registration-523006014067 or by using course #23559 at www.rockvillemd.gov/registration.
For more information about March’s event, call Glenview Mansion at 240-314-8660.