The Philadelphia and Columbia Railway, one of America’s earliest railroads, was first powered by horses and later by steam. Its right-of-way ran on the south side of Montgomery Avenue across from Merion Friends Meetinghouse. The railroad became a major route for enslaved people escaping from Maryland after crossing the Susquehanna River, and as freight cars passed the Meetinghouse, several Quaker families who operated safe houses placed food and water in the cars for them. The sleeper stones here are original track supports from the line.
