The Henry Martyn Parkhurst homestead

5/21/19
*Photo & Caption Courtesy of John K. Dyke

PERTH AMBOY – The Henry Martyn Parkhurst homestead, located on outer-Smith Street, was recently demolished. Parkhurst was the Recording Secretary for the American Anti-Slavery Society and the American Equal Rights Association, as well as a member of the Eagleswood community in Perth Amboy. During the mid-19th Century, this landmark was once a ‘safe house’ for the Underground Railroad, where runaway slaves could rest and recover from their ordeals. The Parkhurst property appears on an 1856 map by Henry David Thoreau and based on the framed construction it was built much earlier. After the American Civil War, Parkhurst worked with the early women’s rights leaders including Susan B. Anthony. Parkhurst was a firm believer in equal rights for all.