EASTERN LIGHT CEMETERY

FOUNDED: 1864

ADDITONAL NAMES: N/A

AFFILIATION(S): Pennsylvania Hallowed Grounds

HISTORY:

Eastern Light Cemetery in Altoona was created in 1864 and the land which fronts 10th Street and Oak Ridge Cemetery was purchased by John Ferguson, George Hooper, and John Alexander for African American citizens of Altoona. In addition, to these men, George M. Jackson, Henry Johnson, George Payne, and Allan (or Allen) Hurley were its first stockholders. It houses the remains of 6 USCT soldiers, the remains of the first Black high school graduate of Altoona High and the remains of the youngest son and his wife of Blair County's best known Underground Railroad conductor.

BCN Contact Information:

Blair County Branch NAACP #2252

admin@blairconaacp.org

EDEN CEMETERY

FOUNDED: 1902

ADDITONAL NAMES: Historic Eden Cemetery

AFFILIATION(S):

• Pennsylvania Hallowed Grounds

HISTORY:

The creation of the Eden Cemetery Company was a collaborative effort to provide a sanctuary in the Philadelphia area where African Americans could be buried with dignity and respect. Founded at the height of Jim Crow, six years after Plessy v. Ferguson, Eden Cemetery was Philadelphia's African American answer to a burial crisis created in the community, due to segregation, urban expansion, public works projects, vandelism, condemnation, and the closure of earlier Black burial grounds and cemeteries. Having a dignified place for burial was a long-standing challenge to African Americans due to racism, but by the end of the 19th century the situation in Philadelphia grew even more dire with the closures of Lebanon and Olive cemeteries and the enactment of municipal ordinances that in effect prohibited the creation of new African American cemeteries within City limits.

Opened in 1902, Eden represented African American agency to address these problems by establishing a new cemetery in suburban Delaware County on fifty-three acres that were part of Bartram Farm, and as a "collection cemetery" for dislocated earlier black burial grounds and cemeteries. This move was not fraught without challenges. On August 12, 1902, Collingdale's white residents blocked the entrance to the cemetery, protesting "a colored burial ground" in their community. Authorities of the borough delayed the funeral for hours. The Delaware County community protested against its opening with a court injunction. The headline in the August 13th, Chester County Times read: "Collingdale Has More Race Troubles, Town Council Has No Use for a Colored Funeral, No African Need Apply." When a compromise was finally reached, Eden was able to have its first burial on August 14, 1902.

The cemetery quickly became a beacon of community pride and representation of African American heritage through the designation of its cemetery sections. An example of this is the John Brown section, which became the chosen resting place for many United States Colored Troops and Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, a Citzen of Eden, who viewed John Brown as an important friend and hero.

Since its beginning, Eden has been a steward of the history and culture of a people, of communities made invisible,. A legavy cemetery, Eden is comprised of dislocated burial grounds, churchyards and cemeteries with over 90,000 persons entrusted to its care. The lives of the Citizens of Eden span from 1721 to the present. Monuments throughout the cemetery eternally memorialize the lives of many thousands, who are an important part of history, and the communities that they represent.

Historic Eden offers a unique cultural, educational, and historical resource in the Greater Philadelphia, Delaware Valley, and the Southeastern Pennsylvania area. The past, present, and future converge at Eden, reflecting a broad spectrum of American history, heritage, culture and memory. Eden offers tours and events designed to educate and connect the past with the present and the future.

Today, Eden is an exceptional monument to the national African American civil rights story. Historic Eden Cemetery is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, is a part of the National Park Service Underground Railroad to Network to Freedom, a member of the Pennsylvania Hallowed Grounds and a member of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History.

Eden looks to the future with a continued focus on stewardship and service, with a strong consideration of how the cemetery will adapt to the ever-changing needs of the community, so that Eden can continue to preserve memory and to provide stewardship and service well into the next century.

BCN Contact Information:

Eden Cemetery

info@edencemetery.org

www.edencemetery.org

LEBANON CEMETERY

FOUNDED: 1872

ADDITONAL NAMES: None

AFFILIATION(S):

• Pennsylvania Hallowed Grounds

HISTORY:

Founded in 1872, Historic Lebanon Cemetery in York, PA was established when the African American citizens in the area came together to purchase almost 2 acres of land to bury their families with dignity and respect. Segregated burial practices existed at the time (and continued through the 1960s), leaving the only other option for burial the “Potter’s Field”, which was overcrowded and preyed upon by grave robbers. The original 2 acres eventually grew to 5 acres over years. The cemetery reflects the diverse historical development of York; former enslaved have been laid to rest among freedmen and women and the Civil War soldiers who fought for their freedom, and men and women transcend the social barriers of life to coexist in death.

Lebanon Cemetery may be York County’s largest and oldest Black-owned cemetery.

BCN Contact Information:

Samantha L. Dorm

sdorm@friendsoflebanoncemetery.com

https://pahallowedgrounds.org/