The Historic Preservation Trust of Lancaster County plans to create a $20 million educational and interpretive complex that will honor Stevens and Smith and their accomplishments, as well as exploring the larger themes of civil rights, equality, slavery and freedom that were reflected in their lives. To develop this important heritage tourism site, we will:

1. Restore the facades and selected interiors of the Stevens and Kleiss buildings and also create modern exhibit spaces that will showcase a series of interpretive and interactive educational displays on Stevens’ life and accomplishments. Other displays will chronicle the rise of public education, slavery, the Civil War, Reconstruction and development and passage of the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments and their link to civil rights in America. Several upper floor areas will be converted into leased space for local colleges to establish a community outreach and educational center. As many as three new food and beverage venues will be introduced, including restoration of the Swan Hotel into a period-style pub, for the enjoyment of both local residents and visitors to Lancaster.
2. Restore the facades and selected interiors of Lydia Hamilton Smith’s properties and create an interpretive center for women’s and minority history. Smith’s remarkable life story would be a springboard for portraying the challenges faced by women and people of color, both locally and nationally, as they won increasing freedom and equality in the 19th and 20th centuries.
3. Preserve the cistern that from all indications was a hiding place for slaves headed north, and create an underground connector/exhibition hall that will physically link the cistern and Stevens and Smith properties and tell the story of the Underground Railroad and their likely role in it. A separate interactive exhibit area will showcase the archaeological project that uncovered the cistern and explain the science and process of urban archaeology and how it is used to interpret history.
4. Develop ongoing educational programming for a wide variety of people including K-12 and college students, families, researchers and scholars, Civil War enthusiasts, archeology buffs, heritage tourists, and church, club and cultural groups. An education center and auditorium will be part of the complex, and programs held there will range from individual speakers and events to seminars and round tables.
5. Mount a coordinated local, regional and national marketing campaign that will revive interest in Thaddeus Stevens and his role in shaping American democracy and attract both local people and outside visitors to the new educational interpretive complex.