Phillipsburg Underground Railroad heritage site
Preserve the tunnel. Bring history back to life.
Help preserve the Underground Railroad heritage of the former Eagle Hotel at 360 Chambers Street. Our nonprofit is working to document and restore the tunnel, renovate the historic building, and bring back what was lost through art, education, history, and music.
501(c)(3) public charity welcoming supporters, partners, and preservation allies.
Explore the vision · A virtual visit
Below Chambers.
A story you can step into.
Walk through a proposed future for the basement: a warm walnut bar, billiards and lounge seating, the Underground Railroad Lounge stage, and a 60-foot passage interpreted through the history of freedom, family, and place.
A connected property walk-through. Follow the passage to the proposed club, climb to the event hall and rooftop, or explore the studio wings at your own pace.
Digital renovation concept. The building’s Underground Railroad association is documented; the passage’s appearance and specific historical use remain under investigation. The furnishings and exhibits shown are proposed.
Tour & historical sources ↗
Explore the proposed campus ↗The next chapter · A design to explore
A gathering place.
Rooted in nature.
Walk through the proposed garden campus: a grand event hall, glass headquarters and inside balcony, separate music and podcast wings, a rooftop lounge, and an underground club.
The rear layout embraces two lawn trees and retains the front parking. Walk continuous stairs and corridors with a character, follow the passage to the original basement, change the hall setting, and share your favorite view.
Built from online parcel and LiDAR data, aerial imagery, and owner footage. A detailed reconstruction and proposal; unsurveyed geometry remains approximate.
The work starts here
$36,000 to plan the path forward.
Professional tunnel and building assessments. Historical documentation. A preservation plan with real costs.
Our nonprofit restoration vision
The preservation plan.
Our first priority is the tunnel and the historic fabric around it. Research, professional assessments, and thoughtful renovation will guide how this Underground Railroad heritage site can welcome the public.
A future path for guided tours
The Edwards family reports a tunnel extending approximately 60 feet from the site. Our goal is to preserve it and open it for guided public tours after professional assessment, restoration, and required approvals.
The Eagle Hotel’s documented history guides this work. Research into the tunnel’s age, route, and specific historical use is still needed; those details will be presented as findings are verified.
Restore the character. Renew the purpose.
Our vision is to renovate the basement and historic building, preserve surviving architectural features, and recover documented details wherever feasible. Assessments will guide masonry, moisture, building systems, accessibility, and visitor-safety work.
Restored spaces would support exhibits, storytelling, educational visits, and community gatherings alongside the site’s living creative chapter.
A gathering place inspired by the Eagle Hotel
We also envision reintroducing a pub downstairs in the basement, with live music and a listening-room atmosphere inspired by the building’s reported tavern history—a future gathering space within the broader restoration vision.
This is a proposal, not an operating venue. Food, alcohol, and entertainment service require the proper permits, licenses, safety approvals, and nonprofit compliance review. Its operating structure and funding will be evaluated separately from restricted preservation gifts.
How we get there
Our first $36,000 campaign funds the discovery stage. We will replace planning allowances with professional quotes before setting a construction campaign goal.
- Document & assessConfirm property-use permission, commission condition and tunnel assessments, and document the historical evidence.
- Plan & fundObtain comparable professional quotes, approve a phased budget, and secure gifts, sponsors, and eligible grant support.
- Restore & prepareBegin approved work only when its funding is secured, then prepare exhibits, staffing, insurance, and visitor access.
- Welcome the publicGuided tunnel tours once the work, inspections, approvals, and funding allow.
Tunnel tours are not open for booking. An opening date and construction budget will follow professional findings and approvals.
Help bring the vision to lifeThe foundation of our story · Education
Sandra & Neville.
A shared foundation.
Before the studio, there was Edwards Learning Center—and the partnership of Sandra and Neville Edwards. Together, they transformed 360 Chambers into a place where children, teens, and adults could build skills, confidence, and opportunity.
Sandra’s educational leadership and Neville’s ownership, maintenance, and care for the building are equally important parts of that story. As her husband and partner, Neville helped grow the business and sustain the place where learning could happen.
The center’s founder biography dates Sandra’s leadership to 2006. With her background in human resources and organizational training, its programs included tutoring, technology training, certification testing, and GED preparation.
Sandra EdwardsNeville EdwardsTheir shared commitment to education, entrepreneurship, and community continues to shape the family’s vision for 360 Chambers. The museum’s next chapter grows from the foundation they built together.
Sandra’s educational background and programs are described by Edwards Learning Center. Neville’s role is shared by the Edwards family.
Art · Education · History · Music
History has a future here.
The goal is more than repairing a building. It is recovering stories, renewing spaces for learning, and giving the next generation a place to make something of their own.
ASE Headquarters, Aaron Edwards’s working studio inside 360 Chambers, is part of that living story. Music and art already give the building a voice. Preservation will help us share its history with a wider community.
Explore ASE Headquarters ↗Mission
Preserve history. Inspire what comes next.
Our mission is to preserve the Underground Railroad heritage of 360 Chambers, restore its tunnel and historic building, and bring back what was lost through art, education, history, and music. We connect careful preservation with living creative work so future generations can learn, create, and belong.
01
Preserve Underground Railroad heritage
Document the former Eagle Hotel, conserve its historic fabric, and share the evidence and community stories behind its Underground Railroad association.
02
Restore the tunnel and building
Fund professional documentation, engineering, safety, accessibility, and interpretation for the roughly 60-foot tunnel as part of the documented Eagle Hotel story.
03
Bring history into education
Create accessible learning experiences around Underground Railroad history, Black entrepreneurship, local resilience, music, media, and culture.
04
Renew the place through art and music
Build a heritage site where neighbors, students, families, artists, and visitors can gather for museum tours, studio work, live music, and mission-aligned cultural events.
The place
The story of the Eagle Hotel.
01
A commercial corner in the historic maps
A 1903 insurance map marks 360 Chambers as a saloon and dwelling. An 1890 map shows a carpet business in a comparable footprint at the corner. The exact construction year remains unresolved; compare the sources in the basement tour.
02
A refuge, tavern, and boarding house
Local reporting traces the building through more than a century of travelers, lodging, tavern life, home-cooked meals, and neighborhood memory.
03
The tunnel restoration effort
The family has identified a tunnel extending roughly 60 feet back from the site. The museum plan is to document it professionally, make it safe, and interpret it responsibly as part of the documented Underground Railroad site.
04
Freedom history at Chambers and Stockton
Phillipsburg's proclamation, TAPinto reporting, and the 2002 New Jersey Historical Commission report connect the former Eagle Hotel at Chambers and Stockton to the Underground Railroad.
05
A living museum and cultural campus
The Edwards family chapter carries the site into education, ASE Media, Underground Railroad Records, live culture, and a museum future rooted in freedom.
Family legacy
A family legacy of opportunity.
The Edwards family story at 360 Chambers is a story of restoration, education, culture, and persistence. Sandra Smith-Edwards, a Black woman entrepreneur and community builder, and Neville Edwards built an ownership foundation around the historic building and helped transform it into Edwards Learning Center.
That work gave Phillipsburg families a place for tutoring, training, confidence, and practical opportunity. The family later carried that same spirit into Ase Records, media work, and public heritage storytelling.
Today, Aaron Selassie Edwards continues the work his parents helped build. With Sandra, Neville, Ebonique, and the broader Edwards family, Aaron is leading the innovation to make the vision happen: a living museum where Underground Railroad history, the tunnel restoration, Black family ownership, studio media, education, and cultural programming all meet.
Carrying the torchEdwards and Heritage Museum Vision.
Founder, CEO, and owner
Sandra Smith-Edwards
Sandra and her husband Neville built Edwards Learning Center together at 360 Chambers. Her educational leadership and his stewardship of the building form an equal partnership in opportunity.
Owner and Next Gen CEO
Aaron Selassie Edwards
Aaron grew up inside the mission and now leads the innovation connecting the museum vision, tunnel restoration, studio, media, and cultural programming.
Marketing and communications
Ebonique Edwards
Ebonique helps shape the public voice of the family story, connecting heritage, community, and future supporters.
Owner
Neville Edwards
Neville and Sandra are equal partners in the family’s work at 360 Chambers. His ownership, care for the building, and work growing Edwards Learning Center are as important to its story as Sandra’s educational leadership.
A practical path to preservation
One clear first step.
A future built in phases.
Start with the knowledge to restore responsibly. Our first campaign will help establish what the building and tunnel need, what public access could look like, and what the work will cost.
Phase one fundraising target$36,000
Assessments, documentation, and a practical preservation plan.
This is a proposed planning budget, not money already raised, a contractor quote, or the full renovation cost. Professional proposals and board approval will guide spending.
Help fund the first phaseHow the first phase is planned
- Building condition reviewPreservation architect
- $10,000
- Structural & tunnel feasibilityQualified engineering team
- $8,000
- Historical documentationRecords, evidence and research
- $4,000
- Code & accessibility reviewA practical path to public use
- $4,000
- Property-use & professional adviceLegal, accounting and insurance consultations
- $3,000
- Contingency & specialist follow-upFor needs identified during assessment
- $7,000
Allowances may change as proposals come in. If the scope costs more, we will adjust the phase or raise additional funds before commissioning it.
Turn the vision into a priced plan.
Confirm the nonprofit’s property-use agreement, obtain professional proposals, and assess conditions. The first phase produces priorities and a clearer scope.
Fund manageable work packages.
Use the findings and itemized estimates to set the next campaign goal. Begin approved work as its funding is secured, with education and public access at its heart.
Build support that lasts.
Combine individual gifts, business sponsors, and suitable professional or material contributions. Count grants only when awarded and plan for staffing, insurance, and upkeep before opening.
What could the larger restoration require?
The full project may require a substantially larger capital campaign. An early illustration for 3,000 square feet of public rehabilitation, tunnel work, professional fees, contingency, and an opening reserve totals roughly $1.1–$2.8 million.
This is a scenario based on assumed area and cost inputs—not an estimate of this property or a ceiling. The actual area, conditions, tunnel feasibility, and local pricing remain to be established. It excludes pub fit-out, liquor licensing, and work outside that assumed area. A smaller opening phase may cost less; extensive structural or site work may cost more.
We will set a construction fundraising goal only after professional assessment and estimates. Today’s invitation is to help fund the $36,000 first step.
Our commitment: explain each phase, distinguish targets from funds received, and share progress as work is funded and commissioned.
Support
Help fund the first chapter.
A clear first step. A lasting public purpose.
Our preservation appeal begins with professional assessments, tunnel documentation, historical research, and a costed plan for basement and building renovation. These steps will establish what it takes to welcome visitors safely and pursue larger restoration grants.
The full vision includes tunnel tours, museum exhibits, educational programming, and a proposed downstairs pub and listening room. Preservation gifts will be used for their stated purpose; proposed pub operations need their own approved budget and legal and tax review. An opening date is not yet set.
Discuss a gift or partnershipPhase one target: $36,000. This is a fundraising target for assessments and preservation planning, not a contractor estimate or the total restoration cost. GoFundMe is in preparation; a verified donation link will be added once live.
360 Chambers Museum Heritage Site, a NJ nonprofit corporation, is recognized as a 501(c)(3) public charity. Its IRS determination letter is dated August 6, 2026, with exemption effective June 22, 2026. Contributions may be deductible as allowed by law.
We welcome preservation partners, sponsors, historians, educators, artists, live-music partners, civic leaders, and families who believe this story deserves a permanent home.
Many ways to help
Your support can start here.
Discuss a gift, introduce a funding partner, or offer the expertise and materials that careful preservation needs.
- Financial support: gifts, business sponsorships, and foundation partnerships.
- Professional expertise: preservation architecture, engineering, historical research, and grant support.
- Materials & equipment: tell us what you can offer so the team can confirm whether it fits the project.
Contact us before delivering items or beginning work. Online payments are not yet available.
Download our one-page funding brief (PDF)
Prefer email? Contact the foundationFor donors and funding partners
What will the first $36,000 support?
Professional assessments of the tunnel and building, historical documentation, and preservation planning with itemized estimates. The target covers the first planning phase; it is not the total renovation budget or a contractor quote.
Who owns the property?
The property is owned by the Edwards family. The nonprofit is leading the preservation appeal. Property-use arrangements and owner permissions will need to meet each funder’s requirements before grant-funded work proceeds.
Can I donate online now?
Online giving is being prepared. PayPal charity verification and the GoFundMe launch are pending. In the meantime, email edwardsheritage360@gmail.com to discuss a proposed gift, sponsorship, or contribution of professional services.
Are the tunnel tours open?
Not yet. Tours are a future goal, following historical research, professional assessments, restoration, and required approvals. An opening date has not been set.
Real photos
Inside the family archive.
360 Chambers Street
The former Eagle Hotel, now held in Edwards family stewardship.
Local reporting traces the site from a mid-1800s Eagle Hotel and long-running boarding house to Underground Railroad memory, Gerald Stern's Phillipsburg poetry, Edwards Learning Center, ASE Media, and a new museum future. The family also plans to document and open the roughly 60-foot tunnel through preservation funding, safety review, and responsible interpretation.
Studio today
Current recording suite
The studio today gives artists a real production environment with an engineering desk, acoustic treatment, lounge seating, and space for recording, mixing, mastering, podcasts, photo, video, and culture work.
Studio today
ASE Records Underground Railroad Studio
The storefront now names the creative chapter of 360 Chambers, connecting the Edwards family studio work with the building's Underground Railroad history and future public programming.
Edwards Learning Center opens
Early local coverage preserved by the family shows the learning center as a downtown education resource.
Tutoring and training downtown
The public record of the building includes tutoring, training, job readiness, and community education work.
A landmark given new life
The family archive connects the historic building to a modern Black-led education and culture mission.
Timeline
The story through time.
1890 / 1903A changing commercial corner
An 1890 map shows a carpet business at the comparable corner. The 1903 map identifies 360 Chambers as a saloon and dwelling. These dated clues trace changing uses; the exact construction year remains unverified. Open the basement tour’s Reading the building stop to compare the maps.
1800s-1900sBoarding house and tavern years
For generations, the building served travelers and local residents with lodging, tavern life, and family-run hospitality. That public gathering history now guides a future heritage lounge and listening-room concept, subject to approvals.
1970sGerald Stern at the Eagle Hotel
Poet Gerald Stern stayed in the building, and memories of the Eagle Hotel and Chambers Street became part of the literary record around Phillipsburg.
1977Lucky Life published
Stern's collection Lucky Life won national recognition and helped carry the Eagle Hotel's place memory into American poetry.
2002Documented Underground Railroad community
A New Jersey Historical Commission report identified Phillipsburg as a documented Underground Railroad community and listed the Eagle Hotel at Stockton and Chambers among known sites.
2005-2006Edwards Learning Center
Public listings place Edwards Learning Center at 360 Chambers, where the family offered tutoring, training, consulting, and community education.
2020sAse Records and creative work
Aaron Selassie Edwards carried the family mission into Ase Records, media work, music, art, and community storytelling.
Next chapterTunnel, studio, and cultural campus
Aaron is leading the innovation alongside Sandra, Neville, Ebonique, and the Edwards family to connect the museum, roughly 60-foot tunnel restoration, ASE Records studio, media center, and future live cultural programming.
2026Public commemoration
TAPinto reported Phillipsburg's Juneteenth program with an Unknown Black Child plaque at Phillipsburg Cemetery, a Shappell Park celebration, and official recognition of 360 Chambers St., formerly the Eagle Hotel.
2026Public charity
The IRS determination letter dated August 6, 2026 recognizes 360 Chambers Museum Heritage Site, a NJ nonprofit corporation, as a 501(c)(3) public charity, with exemption effective June 22, 2026.
Read the stories
Explore the historical record.
Historical research
New Jersey’s 2002 Underground Railroad report
The report lists Phillipsburg among documented communities and the Eagle Hotel among extant sites. It also lists the hotel among claimed sites visited; these records do not establish the tunnel’s age or use.
Read the original reportEducation legacySandra Edwards: the founder’s story
Edwards Learning Center’s own account of Sandra’s education, training background, and commitment to children and adult learners.
Read Sandra’s storyFamily video archiveEdwards Learning Center in Phillipsburg
An archival feature from East Coast City Guide, shared by the family.
Watch videoPhillipsburg 250 seriesTAPinto: Eagle Hotel heritage feature
Read the full feature tracing the Eagle Hotel from a mid-1800s landmark, tavern, and boarding house to Underground Railroad memory, Gerald Stern's poetry, Edwards Learning Center, ASE Media, and Underground Railroad Records.
Read featurePDF and web articleTAPinto: Juneteenth unveiling article
Open the published article that matches the PDF source, covering the Unknown Black Child plaque, the Shappell Park celebration, and the 11:30 official recognition of 360 Chambers as the former Eagle Hotel.
Read articleStudio todayFacebook: Ase Records studio preview
Open the public studio post showing the current recording suite and describing the professional engineering space and acoustically treated booth at Ase Records.
Open postCommunity postFacebook: TAPinto Phillipsburg share
Open the public Facebook share promoting Phillipsburg's June 19 Juneteenth celebration at Shappell Park and the official Underground Railroad site unveiling.
Open postPublic recordTown agenda and proclamation
View the June 9, 2026 town agenda packet with the official proclamation naming the Underground Railroad history connected to 360 Chambers Street.
Open recordStudio headquartersASE Headquarters studio
Visit the studio home for ASE Headquarters, the active creative chapter carrying music, media, art, and culture forward from the 360 Chambers story.
Visit studioEducation chapterEdwards Learning Center listing
See the public listing connected to tutoring, training, consulting, and the education mission that Sandra and Neville Edwards brought to 360 Chambers.
Open listingContact 360 Chambers Museum Heritage Site
Let’s build the next chapter together.
360 Chambers Street, Phillipsburg, NJ 08865
Tunnel tours are a future goal and are not open for booking. Email us about sponsorship, preservation expertise, historical records, or future educational visits.
edwardsheritage360@gmail.com