Dr. William E. Watson will present the story of 57 Irish railroad workers who died in Chester County in 1832 at a West Goshen lecture Oct. 22.

Watson, a professor of history at Immaculata University and director of the Duffy's Cut Project, will speak at 7 p.m. at the West Goshen Township Administration Building, 1025 Paoli Pike. The West Goshen Township Historical Commission is hosting the event, titled "The Tragic Story of the Duffy's Cut Railroad Workers Massacre," according to a registration page on the township's website.

Attendees are asked to register online at westgoshen.org.

A cold case from 1832

Duffy's Cut is a stretch of railroad in East Whiteland Township, about 30 miles west of Philadelphia, built for the Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad. Railroad contractor Philip Duffy hired 57 Irish immigrants from the Ulster counties of Donegal, Tyrone and Londonderry to lay the line in the summer of 1832. All 57 perished within weeks of arriving.

For generations, cholera was blamed. Watson and his brother, J. Francis Watson, a pastor and archivist, began investigating the site through Immaculata University, which sits about a mile from the burial ground. When the first human bones were unearthed on March 20, 2009, the findings told a different story. According to the Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia, archaeological evidence showed some workers died of blunt force trauma and bullet wounds, suggesting they were murdered.

Seven sets of remains were recovered between 2009 and 2012. Six were reburied at West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd. One set, identified as John Ruddy from County Donegal, was returned to Ireland.

The brothers have published two books on the subject: "The Ghosts of Duffy's Cut" in 2006 and "Massacre at Duffy's Cut" in 2018.

New discovery in Downingtown

The research has expanded. In May 2025, Watson's team discovered human remains at Northwood Cemetery in Downingtown, about 11 miles from the original site. Vista Today reported the find may represent a second mass grave containing as many as 120 Irish railroad workers from 1832.

At a June 2025 press conference at Immaculata University, Watson said the two sites "are illustrations of the seamy underbelly of the Industrial Revolution and shows that progress sometimes comes at a great price," as reported by the Daily Local News.

The lecture takes place at the West Goshen Township Administration Building. Registration is available through the township website.