There wouldn’t be a Belmont Mansion in 2026 if there hadn’t been an Audrey Johnson-Thornton in 1985.

More than 40 years ago, Johnson-Thornton looked at the abandoned property in West Fairmount Park and saw not a dilapidated structure on the road to demolition, but a piece of history in need of preservation. One year later, she and TV producer Gloria Penn Easton co-founded the American Women’s Heritage Society (AWHS), an assemblage of Black women, and, with the City of Philadelphia’s blessing, took charge of Belmont’s care.

Until her death in 2019 at age 93, Johnson-Thornton was actively involved in the mansion’s operations. Under her watch, the AWHS turned the space into a popular venue for large social events, created a museum highlighting its role in the nation’s founding and the Underground Railroad, and cemented the building’s importance in U.S. history.

Now, more than 250 years after the historic home’s construction and with the third generation of Johnson-Thornton’s family actively involved in its management, Belmont is preparing for its next act.

Belmont Mansion’s next act

For more details, don’t miss “Reimagining Belmont,” a fundraiser at the mansion on Thursday, November 12, from 6 to 9pm, hosted by AWHS and the Women’s Committee for the 250th, a Philadelphia Visitors Center Corporation program.

Guests will get a sneak peak at how a team of architects and engineers propose jazzing up both the building’s exterior and interior as well as Ralph Applebaum Associates (RAA)’s new vision of the mansion’s Underground Railroad museum. RAA is an internationally-known museum/exhibition planning and design company. Its past projects include the Obama Presidential Center Museum in Chicago and the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.

“We want to make sure that historic houses like Belmont are seen not just for their history, but as places people can be now,” says Loni Booker-White, one of Audrey Johnson-Thornton’s grandchildren. “They’re not just places in the past, beautifully preserved jewels that just kind of sit alone … Belmont could become another important part of the tourism landscape for Philadelphia.”

Two historic markers are also scheduled to be unveiled at Belmont in November. The Pennsylvania Historical Commission will unveil a marker honoring Belmont as a stop on the Underground Railroad. And, the nonprofit Lafayette Trail planned a marker to honor “America’s Favorite Fighting Frenchman,” the Marquis de Lafayette, who visited here. Similar markers run along the Eastern seaboard and the Mississippi River.

Historic significance

Kathryn Ott Lovell, President and CEO of the Philadelphia Visitors Center Corporation, says the Women’s Committee for the 150th is making Belmont’s reinvention its “physical legacy project.” When she learned AWHS was looking to redesign the museum, she encouraged them to consider overhauling the entire property, addressing maintenance and other “unsexy” issues while also making the property more welcoming to visitors.

“We thought that if we could put a bit of fundraising and advocacy behind it, we could really set it up for success,” Ott Lovell says. “It will be transformative for Belmont, for (AWHS), for tourism and for the Black community in Philadelphia, who already consider Belmont a beloved and well-respected asset.”

When it comes to history, Belmont Mansion has multiple storylines to follow.

They start with William Peters, a British-born lawyer and jurist who named his country home to honor its position on a high point overlooking the Schuylkill River and surrounding wilds. The building is an early example of English Palladium architecture in the U.S. Peters also oversaw the creation of an extensive garden that inspired other local agriculturists.

A loyalist, William Peters returned to England before the start of the Revolutionary War. His eldest son, Richard, took over the property on which he’d been born. Richard, a jurist and politician, was loyal to the colonies’ cause. He served as secretary of the Continental Board of War and hosted notables including George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Lafayette.

Peters was also an abolitionist and opponent of the Fugitive Slave Act. But the fact that Belmont was a stop on the Underground Railroad was unknown until Johnson-Thornton and student researchers from Temple University uncovered evidence of its use. (Further details to follow.)

Belmont Mansion became part of Fairmount Park in the 1860s. In the decades that followed, it was used as a private home, a restaurant, a theater, and possibly a boarding house.

By the mid-1980s, Belmont, like other colonial mansions gracing Fairmount Park, was in serious disrepair. In 1985 and 1986, three historic structures — Wakefield Mansion, Greenland, and a home called “The Cliffs” — were damaged by arson. Other properties attracted squatters and graffiti.

The woman who saved Belmont Mansion

As legend has it, Audrey Johnson-Thornton drove past the mansion one day and, seeing its run-down state, decided to learn more about it. Told it was marked for demolition, she quickly mobilized a group of Black women and created the American Women’s Heritage Society. Within months, the group had become the building’s caretakers with a long-term lease agreement for a nominal fee.

Booker-White, who grew up sitting in her grandmother’s office or tending Belmont’s grounds with her grandfather, said taking on such a large project without thoughts of personal gain was typical of Johnson-Thornton.

“Whenever she did anything, it was in service to others,” Booker-White says. “She always believed that nothing could stand in her way and she infused that in the women of our family.”

“Our grandmother saved Belmont from being demolished and erased from the history of the city, and our family wants to continue to be stewards the same way she was, not just to make her proud, but to make the city proud.” Lori Booker-White

Johnson-Thornton began researching the building’s history, uncovering previously unknown stories she eagerly shared. One example is the life story of Cornelia Wells. Richard Peters purchased Wells from her enslaver in 1811 and brought her to Belmont, where she worked as an indentured servant and cook. She earned her freedom after three years and, per her agreement with Peters, moved into nearby Boelson Cottage, which still stands today. An entrepreneur, she sold ginger cakes and drinks from her home for years.

Johnson-Thornton also learned, with the help of Temple graduate students, that Boelson Cottage and Belmont were stops on the Underground Railroad, ferrying African American refugees north to freedom. That led to the establishment of the Underground Railroad Museum in 2009.

Today, Johnson-Thornton’s three daughters and a handful of her grandchildren, including Booker-White, contribute to the mansion’s care.

A family legacy

“We’re proud of the fact that our grandmother saved Belmont from being demolished and erased from the history of the city, and our family wants to continue to be stewards the same way she was, not just to make her proud, but to make the city proud,” Booker-White says. “We want to continue to explore the history, because the more we unlock and the more we find, the more we appreciate the modern city.”

While the cost of Belmont’s reinvention hasn’t been determined, Ott Lovell imagines it will be around $10 million. Early efforts have brought in about $500,000.

Philadelphia Parks and Recreation Commissioner Susan Slawson, whose agency handles the lease between the city and AWHS, says that Belmont’s exists because of public-private partnerships, which Mayor Cherelle Parker frequently champions.

“These are people who step up and step in and ensure we can do things we can’t do on our own,” Slawson says. “They’re stepping up to improve these public spaces, ensuring that Philadelphia’s historical places remain meaningful and useful. It’s important that we hold on to this.”

Slawson knew Johnson-Thornton and described her as a petite woman — standing about five feet, three inches — with “a powerful presence.”

“She just stood on business,” Slawson says, “she made up her mind to ensure that the mansion would not be lost, and she pressed through whatever obstacles that may have been put in her way. She did not allow them to stop her.”

Johnson-Thornton’s work with the mansion began decades after the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, but some locations still balked at hosting Black-run events.

“You would think that in the ’80s, we would be welcomed in all places, but we weren’t and so, as a civil rights leader, she made sure this was a nice space, a historic space, for organizations that didn’t have other places to go,” Slawson says. “There would be no Belmont Mansion if it were not for Miss Audrey Johnson-Thornton.”

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