{"id":3694,"slug":"union-bethel-a-m-e-church-of-cecilton-cecilton-maryland","story":[{"heading":null,"paragraphs":["Union Bethel is the woods — the 'gathered quietly' that's the worshipped outside town, the 'Uncle Perry Hinson' that's the Friendship founded. The 'only place' is the needed — the 'Black people gather' that's the nowhere else allowed, the 'taught reading' that's the Coppin's mother ran. The 'Richardson' is the aided — the 'Edward' that's the freedom reached, the 'Butler Medal' that's the '22nd USCT' earned.","The 'routes shared' is the told — the 'safe roads north' that's the knowledge whispered, the 'quietly aided' that's the risked everything. The '2024' is the late — the 'Network listed' that's the finally certified, the '150 years' that's the still standing. Union Bethel is the persistent — the 'woods to church' that's the evolved standing, the 'Friendship' that's the name's ancestor.","The file keeps Union Bethel: the woods worship, the secret school, Richardson's valor, and the late designation.","Union Bethel is the archive's Maryland file — the church born in the woods."]},{"heading":"Why this file matters","paragraphs":["Union Bethel is the archive's Maryland file — faith organized where worship was forbidden.","A church keeps its woods — the file's suggestion being that Union Bethel's hold is the clandestine: the 'gathered quietly' that's the survival practiced, the 'reading taught' that's the forbidden passed, and the 'Network late' that's the recognition delayed."]}],"name":"Union Bethel A.M.E. Church of Cecilton","aliases":[],"type":"HISTORIC_SITE","type_label":"Historic Site","cats":["DARK_HISTORY","UNDERGROUND_RAILROAD_HISTORY","AFRICAN_AMERICAN_HISTORY","HISTORIC_SITE","RELIGIOUS","UNDERGROUND_RAILROAD"],"groups":["dark-history","historic-sites"],"desc":"The AME church—where the congregation sheltered the fugitives.","full_desc":"Union Bethel A.M.E. Church of Cecilton is a historic site in Cecilton, Maryland, an NPS Network to Freedom. The AME church—where the congregation sheltered the fugitives. It sits in the archive under Underground Railroad history, the Underground Railroad and African American history. The dossier holds 2 documented facts — the record is history-forward, no paranormal claims on file. The site is open to visitors.","address":null,"city":"Cecilton","county":null,"state":"Maryland","postal":null,"region":"South","lat":39.404824,"lon":-75.867412,"coord_kind":"CITY","status":"ACTIVE","access":"PUBLIC","access_notes":null,"ownership":null,"website":null,"phone":null,"year_built":null,"year_opened":null,"year_closed":null,"year_demolished":null,"designation":"NPS Network to Freedom","current_use":"Historic site","research_notes":"UGRR enrichment wave 1; VERIFY task auto-queued.","stage":"SOURCE_RESEARCH","quality":{"level":"MEDIUM","score":67.9,"dims":{"location_confidence":0.75,"identity_confidence":0.85,"historical_confidence":0.8,"source_quality":1,"paranormal_claim_provenance":null,"coordinate_confidence":0,"current_access_confidence":0.7,"freshness":0.65}},"claims":[],"history":[{"description":"NPS includes this site in the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. The site's documented history is the record the rest of the file stands on. This belongs to the verified spine of the entry, the layer everything else is measured against. The detail is preserved in 'Public NPS Network to Freedom listings, row 2, ID 01GA01'. Documented ground is what separates this file from pure legend — this is part of it.","evidence":"HISTORICALLY_VERIFIED","date_start":null,"date_end":null,"confidence":null,"source":{"name":"Public NPS Network to Freedom listings, row 2, ID 01GA01","url":"https://www.nps.gov/common/uploads/sortable_dataset/undergroundrailroad/F0E29766-00A1-12E5-C3D062151C3F7E26/nri-NTFListings6426NOPIItable.csv?t=1784017173223","publisher":"National Park Service","type":"GOVERNMENT","authority":1}},{"description":"Union Bethel A.M.E. Church of Cecilton is documented on the National Park Service Network to Freedom for its role in the Underground Railroad. The site's documented history is the record the rest of the file stands on. It's verified history: the dossier's load-bearing detail. Sources including 'NPS Network to Freedom listing' carry the record. It's the sort of fact that gives the haunting reports their context.","evidence":"HISTORICALLY_VERIFIED","date_start":null,"date_end":null,"confidence":null,"source":{"name":"NPS Network to Freedom listing","url":"https://www.nps.gov/subjects/ugrr/index.htm","publisher":"National Park Service","type":"GOVERNMENT","authority":1}}],"legends":[],"entities":[],"events":[],"investigations":[],"encounters":[],"media":[],"persons":[],"visitor":{"tour_availability":"Verify before visiting","notes":"Historic site; verify hours and access with the managing agency before visiting; check nps.gov for current hours and alerts.","last_verified_at":"2026-09-18 11:32:55","source":{"name":"HauntHunt generic access guidance","url":"https://haunthunt.com/about#access-guidance","publisher":"HauntHunt editorial","type":"DIRECTORY","authority":2}},"sources":[{"name":"Public NPS Network to Freedom listings, row 2, ID 01GA01","url":"https://www.nps.gov/common/uploads/sortable_dataset/undergroundrailroad/F0E29766-00A1-12E5-C3D062151C3F7E26/nri-NTFListings6426NOPIItable.csv?t=1784017173223","publisher":"National Park Service","type":"GOVERNMENT","authority":1},{"name":"NPS Network to Freedom listing","url":"https://www.nps.gov/subjects/ugrr/index.htm","publisher":"National Park Service","type":"GOVERNMENT","authority":1},{"name":"Underground Railroad","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underground_Railroad","publisher":"Wikipedia","type":"ENCYCLOPEDIA","authority":4}],"conflicts":[],"wiki":null,"counts":{"claims":0,"history":2,"legends":0,"entities":0,"sources":3}}