Lancaster in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

Thaddeus Stevens Bridge

Photographed by William Pope, August 5, 2025

1. Thaddeus Stevens Bridge Marker

Inscription. Thaddeus Stevens (1792-1868) was an innovator who had an unyielding commitment to freedom and equal opportunity for all. As a Pennsylvania legislator, Stevens had been key to salvaging legislation to provide for free public education in the commonwealth. Elected to Congress in 1848, he is considered the father of the 14th amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which extended equal protection to all citizens. He also was a major supporter of other early civil rights legislation and the amendments that ended slavery and expanded voting rights. He fervently believed that America should be a nation where individuals could rise to their potential unencumbered by race, class, or other constraints and lobbied ceaselessly for people's rights. Historians have recognized him as one of the most powerful parliamentarians ever to serve in Congress, and as a man who had more influence on his time than many presidents had on theirs.

Erected 2014.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Abolition & Underground RR • Bridges & Viaducts • Civil Rights • Government & Politics. A significant historical year for this entry is 1792.

Location. 40° 3.269′ N, 76° 18.389′ W. Marker is in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in Lancaster County. It

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

is at the intersection of North Duke Street (U.S. 222) and Amtrac Tracks, on the right when traveling south on North Duke Street. This marker is located on the southern side of the bridge over the Amtrac railroad tracks. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 53 McGovern Avenue, Lancaster PA 17603, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in South-Central Pennsylvania, specifically in Pennsylvania Dutch Country,

and in the Susquehanna Valley.

It is also in the American Northeast

and in the Mid-Atlantic.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy

and also one of the original Thirteen Colonies.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: George Ross (approx. 0.4 miles away); Never Forgotten (approx. half a mile away); In memory of Local 319 Firefighters (approx. half a mile away); 140 Years of Lancaster Baseball (approx. half a mile away); Rossmere Base Ball Park (approx. half a mile away); B. F. Good / P. Lorillard Tobacco Warehouse (approx. 0.6 miles away); Underground Railroad (approx. 0.6 miles away); Lancaster Rotary Park: 100 years of Rotary International (approx. 0.6 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Lancaster.

Also see . . . Remarkable Radical: Thaddeus Stevens.

We know Thaddeus Stevens as an ardent abolitionist who championed the rights of blacks for decades—up to, during, and after the Civil War. With other Radical Republicans, he agitated for emancipation, black fighting units, and black suffrage.

(Submitted on August 11, 2025, by William Pope of Marietta, Pennsylvania.)

Photographed by William Pope, August 5, 2025

2. Thaddeus Stevens Bridge Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on August 27, 2025. It was originally submitted on August 11, 2025, by William Pope of Marietta, Pennsylvania. This page has been viewed 77 times since then and 14 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on August 11, 2025, by William Pope of Marietta, Pennsylvania. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.