Author to speak about New Hope Underground Railroad

New Hope Historical Society’s Speaker Series ends

   The New Hope Historical Society’s Seventh annual Speaker Series will conclude on April 27 with a discussion about the Underground Railroad in New Hope by the Rev. Joseph F. DiPaolo, pastor of the United Methodist Church in Wayne, Pa.
   He had been pastor of the United Methodist Church in New Hope for 11 years prior to his current assignment. During his tenure in New Hope the congregation completed the $2.5 million relocation and rebuilding project, moving from the Old Stone Church in downtown New Hope, now Marsha Brown’s Restaurant, to its new facilities on Aquetong Road.
   The Rev. DiPaolo is an avid historian and serves as president of the Historical Society of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference of the United Methodist Church.
   He is the author of “A Hotbed of Secession: New Hope in the Civil War.” The book is the war-time story of New Hope, Pa., a mill town on the Delaware River. It offers a fascinating window into the deep ambivalence felt by much of the north over the Civil War. The Rev. DiPaolo has also written “That They May Be One,” and “Not Built by Human Hands.”
   The talk will be presented at the Thompson Memorial Presbyterian Church on Aquetong Road.
   Admission to the New Hope Historical Society’s Speaker Series is free to members. The cost for non-members is $15. Reservations are required and may be obtained by calling the Historical Society at 215-862-5652 or at [email protected].