The Gettysburg Foundation is pleased to host local historian Jean Howard Green for a special after-hour program on Saturday, Aug. 3, 2024, from 6 until 7 p.m. at the Gettysburg Lincoln Railroad Station, home of Ticket to the Past–Unforgettable Journeys virtual reality experience. Tickets are required in advance for Green’s presentation “Basil Biggs and Excerpts of the Black Community in Gettysburg,” which will take place under the covered pavilion of the historic station.
Green’s presentation will center on Basil Biggs, one of the three historic figures featured in the virtual reality experience at Ticket to the Past–Unforgettable Journeys. Green will explore the Black community of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, around the time of the American Civil War. Ticket holders will learn about Basil Biggs’ life in the community before, during and after the Battle of Gettysburg. Biggs was well-known in Gettysburg as a farmer, veterinarian and leader on the Underground Railroad and played an important role in the aftermath of the 1863 battle. Guests will hear about the connections between the Lincoln Cemetery, the only existing Black cemetery in Gettysburg, and the stories of Biggs and Gettysburg’s Black community.
Green has dedicated herself to preserving and sharing the history of Gettysburg’s Black community and serves as the president of the Lincoln Cemetery Project Association. The Lincoln Cemetery Project Association was established to preserve and protect Gettysburg’s only surviving Black cemetery, located at the corner of Long Lane and Lincoln Lane. More than 450 citizens of Gettysburg and Adams County and 30 Civil War veterans are buried in the Lincoln Cemetery, including Basil Biggs.
Located at 35 Carlisle Street in downtown Gettysburg, the virtual reality experience inside the station is open 9 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Event ticket holders can purchase tickets at a discounted rate for available showtime prior to the program or on a future date to experience history in a virtual reality encounter with historic figures associated with the station during the 1863 battle and its aftermath. In addition to Biggs, Ticket to the Past–Unforgettable Journeys features two other historic figures, Cornelia Hancock and Eli Blanchard. Visitors also get a glimpse of President Lincoln’s arrival before the dedication of the National Cemetery, where he delivered the Gettysburg Address.
In addition to 10 other locations, Ticket to the Past–Unforgettable Journeys is an experience on Gettysburg’s new self-guided Black History Trail that launched late last month as part of a collaborative community effort. More information is available online about visiting the 11 sites on the Black History Trail that tell the stories and honor the legacies of various historic figures in Gettysburg.
Tickets for the Aug. 3 program and admission tickets for Ticket to the Past–Unforgettable Journeys are available by phone, 877-874-2478 or 717-334-2436, online at GettysburgFoundation.org/Ticket-to-the-Past, at the Ticket Counter inside the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum & Visitor Center, 1195 Baltimore Pike, Gettysburg or on-site at Ticket to the Past–Unforgettable Journeys.