Delaware County’s ties to the rich legacy of African Americans in this country can be seen in a Black History display on view at the Delaware County Historical Society Museum, Library & Research Center.

Among the items featured is a picture of the Crozer Theological Seminary in Upland, where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. studied from 1948 to 1951 to obtain an undergraduate divinity degree. It shows a multitude of stacks of books, rising above a beautifully tiled floor.

King’s time in Chester was instrumental in the formation of his belief of nonviolent social change, after being influenced by Mohandas Gandhi, A.J. Muste and Mordecai Johnson. He arrived in Chester after graduating from Morehouse College.

In Chester, he was encouraged by the Rev. Pius Barbour, then pastor of Calvary Baptist Church, to become active in the church’s life. So, the seminary student preached, taught Sunday school and spent many hours with Calvary’s parishioners.

The display also recognizes Thomas Garrett of whom Garrett Road in Upper Darby was named. Garrett, a white Quaker, became noted for his abolitionist stance and his work on the Underground Railroad.

He was motivated into action when a free black woman in the farm where he was being raised was kidnapped and sold into slavery. His work in rescuing her taught him more about the situation facing African Americans at the time, and that led to him assisting more than 2,700 individuals on their path to freedom.

Himself in Wilmington, Del., Garrett would often send travelers on the railroad to his family in Upper Darby.

In 1848, he was prosecuted under the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 and fined. However, that only steeled his resolve further to help more people find their way to freedom.

The Black History display can be seen at the Delaware County Historical Society Museum, Library & Research Center. The museum is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday and Friday; 1 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday; and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. The museum’s telephone number is 610-872-0502. Parking is free on the society lot behind the building or across the street in the municipal lot.

Membership in the Delaware County Historical Society ranges from $10 for students, $27 for individuals to $250 at the patron level. It includes free admission to the society’s Chester museum and library at 408 Avenue of the States, the society newsletter and preferred reservations and discounts for lectures and events. To join, please visit www.padelcohistory.org or call 610-359-0832.

Shown is a picture of the Crozer seminary as it would have looked at the time the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. studied there.

A display dedicated to Black History Month greets visitors to the Delaware County Historical Society Museum, Library & Research Center.