On Juneteenth this year, after six years of fundraising, renovation, and construction, the 300-year-old property known as Boone Farm in Middletown Township, Pennsylvania, opened as the African American Museum of Bucks County. The location seems particularly appropriate because the history of the farm over three centuries mirrors much of the history of African Americans. In the 18th century, enslaved people lived and worked here, and in the early 20th century, the agricultural property became a welcoming haven for Black people coming north in the Great Migration, offering fair wages that helped fund home purchases, family stability, and community building.
Bucks County acquired the dilapidated farm in 2000 and began the process that transformed the central house into a permanent home for what had been a traveling pop-up project focused on African American history. The farm itself has now become the latest chapter in the historical story its museum tells.
Press coverage of the new museum has been highly favorable, with local and regional media emphasizing the museum’s ambitious four-floor presentation, modern interactive technology, and unusually detailed focus on the largely untold African American history of Bucks County.
Here’s what the museum looks like inside.
