Camptown Historic District

Camptown Historic District is a 19th-century neighborhood with 35 structures in Renaissance Revival and Gothic styles arranged along Penrose Avenue and Cheltenham Avenue. The roughly 26-acre area contains homes featuring arched doorways, decorative windows, and characteristic brick construction that reflects the period when it was built.

From 1863 to 1865, the area served as Camp William Penn where African-American soldiers trained for the Civil War. After the war ended, many of these soldiers returned and bought property in the neighborhood, creating a settled community that lasted.

The home called Roadside belonged to Lucretia Mott and served as a station helping people escape bondage through an underground network. Visitors can still sense the district's deep connection to the movement that fought slavery, a heritage visible in how the place is spoken about and remembered by people here.

The neighborhood sits between Penrose Avenue, Graham Lane, Dennis Street, and Cheltenham Avenue and is easy to explore on foot. The buildings are easily visible from the street, making it straightforward to take a self-guided walk through the area at your own pace.

Many of the buildings here were purchased and occupied by African-American soldiers after the Civil War, which was then an unusual example of Black land ownership and self-governance. This phenomenon of soldier settlement remains a relatively rare documented example in North America.