History Comes Alive at Gather Place Museum

From the moment one meets Shirley Lee Corsey, executive director of Gather Place Museum, their life is forever altered for the better. Her mother nicknamed her “Sunshine,” and she is a person who exudes positivity, ambition, and creativity with her presence and conversation. Corsey is a third-generation African American resident of Yardley who continues to enrich the community, county, and state she grew up in.

'“My mission for Gather Place Museum is to preserve history, architecturally and orally; celebrate culture, women, African Americans, Quakers, and our community; and foster community engagement,” Corsey says. “We bring history to life.”

Grown From Local Roots

Corsey’s maternal grandmother and first husband (her second husband is Corsey’s grandfather) settled on South Canal Street in Yardley in the early 1900s during the Great Migration because there was a reputation of racial tolerance in the area. It was also a place with lots of work available at nearby farms and waterways. South Canal Street and across the bridge to the “flats” (Pennsylvania and Reading avenues) was considered the black community. In 1956, Corsey’s parents bought a house across the street from where her grandmother lived, and that’s where she was raised.

“I had a happy childhood,” she says. “Although I lived in the black community, I went to school with all types of people. Even though I was a so-called minority, it didn’t bother me because I had pride in myself and knew it was okay to be different.”

Corsey eventually earned a degree in computer science and had a successful career working as an electronic medical records analyst. She settled with her husband and children in South Jersey.

After both of Corsey’s parents passed away, her childhood home was left as an estate and stayed within the family. Around six years ago, with her family’s blessing, she bought the Lee family home and renovated it. This decision would become an unexpected and joyous turning point in her life.

Uncovering the Past

Corsey has always been the family historian and entrepreneur. When fixing her family home, she noticed that the African Methodist Episcopal Church of Yardley across the street was falling into disrepair after being abandoned for about 40 years. She was never a member of the church growing up, but the establishment was always a part of her childhood, and she had the foresight to save it.

“Growing up, we were outside playing all the time,” she says. “I can remember hearing my mom’s voice when we were kids saying, ‘Don’t go past the church, and come back home when the church lights go on.’ The building was an integral part of the community.”

Corsey did her due diligence and learned that if you live within several feet of a blighted property, you can file to be a conservator. She found that the deed on the property still belonged to the church, dating back to 1877. After lots of legwork with her brother’s help, she hired an attorney, petitioned the court, and became the conservator in July 2022.

“I was so honored to be named conservator after so much support from family and neighbors,” she says. “My purpose was not for personal profit but to preserve it because I knew how important its history is to Yardley and the African American community. With my same attorney, I founded the nonprofit Gather Place Museum so I could fulfill my goals of architectural preservation, historic programming, and a walk-through museum.”

Along with private donations, Corsey received a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Economic Development to restore the exterior of the building, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. With the renovation complete, she started offering programs in 2023; those now include lectures, first-person reenactments, and an interactive history hunt for children.

Corsey’s first reenactment was Harriet Tubman, whom she learned all about by researching historical, first-person, primary-source documents. She says she connects with Tubman on a human level and continues to present the story of this brave historical figure to groups.

“Shirley has given us so much information about Harriet Tubman that we did not know,” says Evelyn Randolph, an audience member at a recent presentation. “She’s perfect in this role. She’s lively, interesting, relaxed, and has so much knowledge to share with everyone. She’s fabulous.”

America’s 250th Celebration

Networking and collaborating with other museums and nonprofits have become important factors in growing Gather Place Museum’s notability. As America’s 250th anniversary approaches, Corsey, on behalf of Gather Place Museum, became a nonprofit affiliate of America250PA in 2024 and subsequently a nonprofit affiliate Bucks250PA. Then in September 2025, she was appointed to the Bucks250PA Commission Board. She has contributed her time and energy at both the county and state levels, supporting commemorative initiatives and sharing Gather Place Museum programming with communities near and far.

To add to her list of successes, Corsey’s nonprofit received an America250PA Semiquincentennial Grant, Bucks County Tourism Grant, and Bucks250 grant among others, to support her creative vision for this special commemoration.

“Abigail Adams wrote to her husband, John Adams, when he was in Philadelphia writing the Constitution, to ‘Remember the Ladies,’ so that was my mindset with the grants,” she says. “We are celebrating 250 years, and it’s important that we celebrate women who are associated within the ark of 250 years. My goal is to tell untold stories with the told stories.”

As part of celebrating Women’s History Month this March, Corsey has added more reenactors to portray journalist Ida B. Well-Barnett; abolitionist Lucretia Mott; William Penn’s wife, Hannah Penn; and William Penn’s slave, Susanna Warder. She also curates a unique presentation told from the viewpoint of Michelle Obama (Corsey dressed as her), covering 12 influential first ladies starting with Martha Washington.

“I believe history should be told 12 months, 24/7,” she says. “However, when we focus on certain months like Women’s History Month in March, it helps to connect the dots to get the whole story. The feedback I get when I present women’s history programs is ‘I didn’t know that, thank you, we all learned something new.’ That’s what my programs do. They provoke people to think.”

A Living Legacy

As the 250th anniversary celebrations continue at Gather Place Museum, Corsey says she’ll keep on collaborating with various organizations to create more historical opportunities for people who live in Bucks County and beyond.

“I’ve met so many people through Bucks250PA, like the Friends of Washington Crossing Park,” Corsey says. “We learn from each other. It’s good for everyone in Bucks County to connect. Gather Place Museum is just 15 minutes down the road from where Washington crossed the Delaware, so we need to celebrate our whole county and state because we’re all connected.”

Corsey says she is constantly coming up with new ideas for more programming and topics to tell America’s history. She says she feels blessed her life has come full circle.

“If you live long enough, you think of your life as a circle,” she says. “I started my circle here as a child, and I’m not surprised I’m back because my heart has always been in Yardley. My goal is to leave a legacy. When I’m gone, I want someone to pick it up and keep it going and improve on it. That’s my hope. It’s called a generational blessing.”

Dari Kotzker resides in Bucks County with her husband and four kids. She has worked as a reporter in television news and print media since 2001.

Photograph by Jennifer Janikic Photography