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Eden Cemetery (Collingdale, Pennsylvania)

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Coordinates: 39°55′20″N 75°16′24″W / 39.92222°N 75.27333°W / 39.92222; -75.27333
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Eden Cemetery
Eden Cemetery Entrance
Map
Details
Established1902
Location
1434 Springfield Road, Collingdale, Pennsylvania
CountryUnited States
Typeprivate
Size53 acres
No. of graves93,000
WebsiteOfficial website Edit this at Wikidata
Find a GraveEden Cemetery
Eden Cemetery
Eden Cemetery (Collingdale, Pennsylvania) is located in Pennsylvania
Eden Cemetery (Collingdale, Pennsylvania)
Eden Cemetery (Collingdale, Pennsylvania) is located in the United States
Eden Cemetery (Collingdale, Pennsylvania)
Coordinates39°55′20″N 75°16′24″W / 39.92222°N 75.27333°W / 39.92222; -75.27333
NRHP reference No.10001031[1]
Added to NRHPDecember 13, 2010
Eden Cemetery
World War I Pennsylvania Colored Soldier Memorial in Eden Cemetery

Eden Cemetery is a historic African-American cemetery located in Collingdale, Pennsylvania. It was established June 20, 1902, and is the oldest existing black owned cemetery in the United States.[2] The cemetery covers about 53 acres[3] and contains approximately 93,000 burials.[4]

History

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Jerome Bacon, an instructor at the Institute for Colored Youth (the precursor to Cheyney University), led efforts to create a cemetery for African-Americans who had been buried in cemeteries in Philadelphia that were being condemned by the city in the early 20th century.[5] The cemeteries included Lebanon Cemetery (condemned in 1899 – closed in 1903),[6] the Olive Graveyard (closed in 1923),[7] the Stephen Smith Home for the Aged and Infirm Colored Person's Burial Ground and the First African Baptist Church Burial Grounds.[4] The bodies buried in these cemeteries were disinterred and re-interred at Eden Cemetery.[8] The oldest reburial in the cemetery is from 1721.[9]

After litigation from Collingdale, Pennsylvania opposing the creation of an African-American cemetery in the township, a charter for the creation of Eden Cemetery was granted by Pennsylvania on June 20, 1902. Fifty-three acres of land previously part of Bartram Farms were selected for the creation of the cemetery.

The first meeting of the cemetery charter committee was held on August 9, 1902, and included prominent members of Philadelphia's black community in the following roles:

  • President – John C. Asbury, lawyer
  • Vice-president – Charles W. Jones
  • Vice-president – Daniel C. Parvis, upholsterer
  • Secretary – Jerome Bacon, instructor at the Institute for Colored Youth (the precursor to Cheyney University)
  • Treasurer – Martin J. Lehmann, cigar maker[3]

The first interment at the cemetery was delayed until nightfall due to local white protestors who blocked the cemetery entrance during the day.[10] The headline of the Chester County Times the next day read "Collingdale Has More Race Troubles, Town Council Has No Use for a Colored Cemetery, No African Need Apply."[5]

On May 30, 1919, a memorial was erected to commemorate the colored soldiers from Pennsylvania who fought and died in France during World War I from 1917 to 1918.

In 1986, five child victims of the 1985 MOVE bombing were interred in two unmarked graves at Eden Cemetery.[11]

In July 2008, vandals toppled over 200 headstones in the cemetery, including that of Octavius Valentine Catto, one of the most famous burials at Eden Cemetery.[10]

In 2010, Eden Cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[1] It is still in operation and maintained by a group of volunteers.[5]

In 2015, a monument to Pauline Oberdorfer Minor was erected in Eden Cemetery by the Philadelphia Alumnae chapter of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority[12] She was one of the 22 founders of the Sorority but was working as a housekeeper when she died and was interred in a pauper's grave alongside three other people.[13]

In January 2024, the skulls of 19 unidentified black Philadelphians were interred in two mausolea in Eden Cemetery. The skulls were part of the Penn Museum collection and were most likely from enslaved persons from the 1830s and 1840s. The skulls were collected by Samuel George Morton, a scientist who supported scientific racism.[14]

Notable burials

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See also: Category:Burials at Eden Cemetery (Collingdale, Pennsylvania)
Marian Anderson gravestone
Pauline Richardson Oberdorfer Minor memorial near her pauper's grave she shares with three other burials
Charles Albert Tindley gravestone

References

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Citations

  1. ^ a b "National Register of Historic Places Listings". Weekly List of Actions Taken on Properties: 12/13/10 through 12/17/10. National Park Service. 2010-12-23.
  2. ^ Keels 2003, p. 88.
  3. ^ a b "Historic Eden Cemetery – Our History". www.edencemetery.org. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  4. ^ a b "Historic Eden Cemetery – Eden Stories". www.edencemetery.org. Archived from the original on 18 April 2019. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  5. ^ a b c Romero, Melissa (26 September 2017). "Octavius Catto and the forgotten African-American heroes that lie in Eden Cemetery". www.philly.curbed.com. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  6. ^ Keels 2003, p. 84.
  7. ^ Ross, Marc Howard (2018). Slavery in the North: Forgetting History and Recovering Memory. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 978-0812250381. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
  8. ^ Keels 2003, p. 79.
  9. ^ Herr-Cardillo, Starr. "The burial ground of Marian Anderson crowdfunds to preserve Black history". www.whyy.org. WHYY. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  10. ^ a b Farrell, Joelle (24 July 2008). "200 headstones toppled at Delco cemetery". www.inquirer.com. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  11. ^ Whelan, Aubrey (November 15, 2022). "After the mishandling of MOVE remains, families aren't sure what's buried in their loved one's graves". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  12. ^ Bailey, Samaria (31 March 2015). "Delta sorority founder recognized with grave stone". phillytrib.com. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  13. ^ Holmes, Kristen E. (26 March 2015). "Search for founder's history ends in tribute". inquirer.com. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
  14. ^ Cartagena, Rosa (2 February 2024). "Penn Museum committed to repatriating skulls of Black Philadelphians used for racist science, Here's why experts say the burials were rushed and unethical". www.inquirer.com. The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  15. ^ Singer's courage recalled on anniversary of historic performance[permanent dead link]
  16. ^ a b c d e f g h Philadelphia Magazine: Finding African American History at Delaware County’s Eden Cemetery
  17. ^ AAREG
  18. ^ "Henrietta S. Duterte · Mobility, Migration, and the 1855 Philadelphia National Convention · ColoredConventions.org". coloredconventions.org. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  19. ^ McCarthy, Jade. "Fan Buys Tombstone For Philly Boxing Great". www.phillyboxinghistory.com. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  20. ^ "Philly Boxing History". www.phillyboxinghistory.com. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  21. ^ Article on Fauset's grave at PhillyGraves.com Archived 2007-12-31 at the Wayback Machine
  22. ^ James Forten first black man to be honored as hero of the American Revolution
  23. ^ Renewed Efforts To Save Home Of Journalist T. Thomas Fortune
  24. ^ Costello, Rory. "S.K. Govern". www.sabr.org. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  25. ^ Pair of local war heroes receive Medals of Honor
  26. ^ William Still Burial Site at Eden Cemetery, National Park Service
  27. ^ "Hannah Archer Till (1721–1826) •". 2016-11-15. Retrieved 2022-03-30.
  28. ^ "Hannah Till (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2022-03-30.
  29. ^ Shrine honors Charles Tindley as 'father of gospel music'
  30. ^ Headstone Dedication to Honor Congressman George Henry White, Early Civil Rights Leader

Sources

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