Dennis farm celebrates ‘faith, family, farm and freedom’

There to celebrate America’s 250th birthday as well as the 25th anniversary of the Dennis Farm Charitable Land Trust, those gathered commemorated  significant historical milestones while also celebrating the people and community of Susquehanna County.

Audience members were welcomed with remarks from Dennis family descendants Darryl Gore and Lonnie Moore III, both officers of the Land Trust. Gore, a seventh-generation descendant of farm founder Prince Perkins, welcomed the crowd. Gore thanked America250PA for its support, including choosing the farm as the site for the first permanent bell placed by the organization as part of Pennsylvania’s celebration of the nation’s 250th anniversary. The 1,300-pound Dennis Farm Semiquincentennial Bell was dedicated at the farm in 2023 and is displayed prominently on the property. To those visiting the farm for the first time, Gore offered a simple greeting: “Welcome, so glad to have you here.”

Moore, a great-great-grandson of Henry W. Dennis, followed by thanking the many partners whose support has helped preserve the farm and make events such as Saturday’s celebration possible.

Moore was followed by Master of Ceremonies and Land Trust Advisory Board member George Stark, who began the day’s planned program by declaring it a “day of celebration, remembrance, as well as elegance.” Stark then introduced Lucas Taylor, a Hop Bottom native, ordained minister and director of student life at Keystone College, to deliver the invocation. Taylor, who serves as the college’s liaison to the Land Trust and coordinates its student docent program, asked those gathered to “never take for granted the freedoms we enjoy,” while reminding them that the day was also about strengthening the bonds between neighbors and renewing “our commitment to building for generations ahead.”

Following the invocation, Paris-based American jazz vocalist Joan Minor, a longtime friend of M. Denise Dennis, led the audience in singing the national anthem as a color guard made up of members of Nicholson American Legion Post 953 presented the colors. Minor has performed throughout the United States, Europe and Africa and has toured Africa on behalf of the U.S. State Department.

Stark next introduced Susquehanna County Commissioner Alan Hall, first thanking him for his leadership at the county level and his partnership with the Land Trust. Hall said the day was not simply a time to look backwards, but stressed that “freedom is something we have a responsibility to protect.”

Hall noted the significance of choosing the Dennis Farm as the site of the first permanent commemorative bell celebrating America’s 250th birthday.

“(It) can teach the children of this county (that) history just didn’t happen in Philadelphia and Boston, but also happened here,” Hall said. He went on to praise the Dennis family and the Land Trust for preserving an important piece of history and “ensuring a legacy of liberty can live on.”

Next, Pennsylvania State Rep. Jonathan Fritz spoke to the audience, noting that the themes of the day included the ideas of “welcoming and freedom.” Fritz spoke about how Prince Perkins was welcomed more than 230 years ago with “Susquehanna County kindness,” and said “Susquehanna County people seek it, savor it, and stop at no end to preserve it.”

Cassandra Coleman, executive director of America250PA, followed Fritz, recounting first hearing the story of the farm eight years ago and said that her organization was “honored to have placed the first bell at the farm.”

The stage was then turned over to voices from the past as historical reenactors brought Prince Perkins, who first settled in the area in 1793 after moving from Connecticut, his wife Judith, and their son-in-law and fellow Revolutionary War veteran Bristol Budd Sampson to life.

Perkins reenactor Steven Thomas noted Perkins’ skills as a fiddler, and said Perkins played at ceremonies marking the nation’s 24th birthday before passing away at the age of 89. Leslie Bramlett, portraying Judith, detailed how she, “while small in stature, worked the land, grew crops, and served as a nurse” in the surrounding community. Bramlett said Judith was born in freedom, and “this place became a center for freedom” as she highlighted its history as a stopping place along the Underground Railroad.

Next came M. Denise Dennis, president and CEO of the Dennis Farm Charitable Land Trust.

“I love the United States and love the Dennis Farm,” Dennis said, taking the stage. She said the farm “couldn’t have survived without community, a community that respected them,” referring to the Perkins family as neighbors.

From the stage, Dennis recognized descendants of the Perkins family’s early neighbors, and said how rare it was for descendants of families who knew one another more than two centuries ago to still gather together 233 years later.

That connection continues today. Grant Palmer, a local resident and member of the American Legion color guard, recalled visiting the farm on Scout camping trips led by his father, David Palmer. “We have been coming here all our lives,” Palmer said.

Dennis continued her remarks by relating how her mantra to “proceed to the positive” has guided her. She said it was fitting that her co-founder of the Trust, her great-aunt Hope Dennis, was named Hope. “Hope leads us to what is possible,” she said.

Dennis went on to describe the Trust’s four themes of “Faith, Family, Farm and Freedom,” noting that faith has been central to the family. “Family is our first social unit,” Dennis said, “Dennis Farm is our touchstone, our North Star— the farm has seen us come and go, but has stayed.”

Turning to the final theme, freedom, Dennis said the farm was one of the few places where the ideals expressed in the Declaration of Independence could be seen in practice. “‘All men are free and equal’ truly existed here,” she said.

Minor drew the presentation portion of the day to a close with her renditions of “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing” and “God Bless America.” That was followed by an American Legion firing squad salute and the playing of “Taps” to honor the service and legacy of four veterans of the American Revolution, War of 1812 and Civil War who are buried on the property.

Speaking after the formal ceremonies, Dennis said while working at the National Urban League in the late 1990s, a colleague noticed a photograph on her desk of Dennis and her family at the farm and asked about it. What began as a chance conversation eventually led Dennis to write about her family’s farm legacy for the League’s Opportunity Journal.

The article grew into a six-page photo essay titled “Pride of Place: The Perkins-Dennis Family of Pennsylvania” and was published in 1998. Dennis said readers were astounded by the story of a free African American family whose connection to the land in northeastern Pennsylvania stretched back to the birth of the nation. That response helped set in motion the establishment of the Dennis Farm Charitable Land Trust by Dennis and her great-aunt Hope in 2001.

The preservation effort would eventually lead to the Dennis Farm being listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014, recognizing the property for its national historical significance.

The Trust has ambitious plans for the future, according to advisory board member Stark, including restoring the original farmhouse to serve as a resource for the public.

One day, it may be that Dennis’ descendants will be walking the same grounds during America’s 300th birthday celebration.

“I hope that my efforts to preserve this land and what it symbolizes helps,” Dennis said.