Locust Grove Cemetery
A historic African-American burial ground that embodies a community's commitment
Beginning in the Spring of 2003, professor Steven B. Burg and Shippensburg University's Applied History Program students became part of a movement dedicated to preserving Locust Grove Cemetery, a two-hundred-year-old African-American burial ground, from vandalism, physical alteration, weathering and the bleak and sinister picture painted by the community in a borough with a rich history of segregation and racial discrimination. By 2005, a coalition led by the Locust Grove Cemetery Committee, Shippensburg Historical Society, and Shippensburg University's history department had restored the cemetery and by 2007 had dedicated a historic marker to serve as a reminder to the public the extraordinary history reflected in the cemetery and the lives buried there.
The first mention of Locust Grove Cemetery was on a hand-drawn survey of Shippensburg circa 1790-1800, which was utilized by the Shippen-Burd family to record their landholdings. The parcel of land was labeled "Negro Graveyard". Between 1813 and 1826 Joesph Burd, third generation proprietor of Shippensburg, sold three-quarters of the land to Dr. John Simpson. Before 1834, however, Joseph Burd rented African-American residents an empty square lot between the cemetery and North Queen Street. It was here that Shippensburg's first independent African-American church was built.
Earliest recognition of the Locust Grove Cemetery titled "Negro Graveyard". Circa 1800. Courtesy of Shippensburg Historical Society.
“Afn Church & GraveYd” located by the arrow depicts the drastically reduced lot, as a result of Joseph Burd selling three-quarters of the land to Dr. John Simpson. The black square represents the placement of the A.M.E Church. Circa 1858. From F.W. Beers Company, Atlas of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. (Philadelphia, Pa.: Wagner and McGuigan, 1858). Courtesy of Shippensburg Historical Society.
Cumberland County: A Slave Hub
Despite the passage of the 1780 Act for the Gradual Emancipation of Slavery, Pennsylvania being the first state in the country to pass the Abolition Act, the total number of slaves in Cumberland County (county of Shippensburg) rose from 223 to 307 between 1790 and 1810, while the total number of slaves in Pennsylvania declined from 3,707 to 795. By 1810, Cumberland County held more slaves than any other county in the commonwealth.
Edward Shippen Burd Land Grant
In 1842, Edward Shippen Burd (1779-1848) granted land to the "black people of Shippensburg for the purpose of erecting a place of worship and burying the dead of the black people of Shippensburg and for no other purpose whatever".
African Methodist Episcopal Church
The African Methodist Episcopal Church, later renamed the Richard Baker A.M.E Church (1886), was part of the A.M.E Church's Harrisburg Circuit, as Shippensburg was identified as a "preaching place" in the Harrisburg area during the First Annual Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Church held in Baltimore in 1817.
Civil War Veterans
23 African-American veterans are buried in the North Queen Street section, accounting for 41% of all marked graves in the oldest section of the cemetery. Three other Civil War veterans are buried in the newer (1921) Locust Grove section. Together, three of these veterans served in the famous 54th and 55th Massachusetts regiments, twenty-two in the United States Colored Troops, and one United States Marine.
Locust Grove Restoration Campaign: "Heroes in Life, Honored in Death"
In the Fall of 2005, Steven Burg sat around the kitchen table in the home of Nancy Hodge, president of the Locust Grove Cemetery Committee, adopting goals for the restoration of Locust Grove Cemetery - a protective fence, conservation work on the headstones, a new flagpole, interpretive signage, and a permanent rostrum for Memorial Day observances - goals that would estimate $25-30,000.
Recognition
In anticipation of the Civil War sesquicentennial in 2011, the State Department of Economic and Community Development encouraged Cumberland County, among other counties in Pennsylvania, to identify their own Civil War sites. One specific theme out of four was "African Americans' defense of the Commonwealth". Locust Grove Cemetery was chosen to be 1 of 8 sites recognized within the county.
Cumberland County: A Slave Hub
Despite the passage of the 1780 Act for the Gradual Emancipation of Slavery, Pennsylvania being the first state in the country to pass the Abolition Act, the total number of slaves in Cumberland County (county of Shippensburg) rose from 223 to 307 between 1790 and 1810, while the total number of slaves in Pennsylvania declined from 3,707 to 795. By 1810, Cumberland County held more slaves than any other county in the commonwealth.
The demand for labor and need to lower wages within the county, its close proximity to Maryland (who was more accepting of slavery), and the dominance of the Presbyterian Church over Quakers within the region have all been suggested to be determinants of the influx of slaves to Cumberland County.
Photo (above) is of the first page of the Gradual Emancipation Act
Point indicates the state line between Pennsylvania and Maryland, 70 miles from Shippensburg, which is also 147 miles from Philadelphia. These proximities played a significant role in explaining the increase in the slave population in Cumberland County.
Edward Shippen Burd Land Grant
In 1842, Edward Shippen Burd (1779-1848) granted land to the "black people of Shippensburg for the purpose of erecting a place of worship and burying the dead of the black people of Shippensburg and for no other purpose whatever".
The church and cemetery became the community's first public space owned and controlled by African Americans, conveying residents autonomy and freedom.
Edward Shippen Burd was a well-respected Philadelphia lawyer, philanthropist, financial backer and abolitionist.
Point indicates location of Edward Shippen Burd's Philadelphia home, pictured second
African Methodist Episcopal Church
The African Methodist Episcopal Church, later renamed the Richard Baker A.M.E Church (1886), was part of the A.M.E Church's Harrisburg Circuit, as Shippensburg was identified as a "preaching place" in the Harrisburg area during the First Annual Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Church held in Baltimore in 1817.
This inclusion and the church's independent status reflected the growth of African-American independence in the area.
By 1800, free blacks in Shippensburg were more than twice the population of slaves, a ratio of 37 free blacks to 17 slaves. By 1820, there were 82 free blacks to 3 slaves.
Photo (above) is of Philadelphia's first A.M.E Church, as no photos of original Shippensburg A.M.E Church are available. The A.M.E Church of Philadelphia is the oldest church property in the United States to be continuously owned by African-Americans
Point indicates location of original A.M.E Shippensburg Church on cemetery grounds, the first church in Shippensburg to be owned by African-Americans
Civil War Veterans
23 African-American veterans are buried in the North Queen Street section, accounting for 41% of all marked graves in the oldest section of the cemetery. Three other Civil War veterans are buried in the newer (1921) Locust Grove section. Together, three of these veterans served in the famous 54th and 55th Massachusetts regiments, twenty-two in the United States Colored Troops, and one United States Marine.
Nineteen other veterans saw service in every major American conflict, from the Spanish-American War through Vietnam.
Point indicates old North Queen Street section, where 22 Civil War veterans are buried
Locust Grove Restoration Campaign: "Heroes in Life, Honored in Death"
In the Fall of 2005, Steven Burg sat around the kitchen table in the home of Nancy Hodge, president of the Locust Grove Cemetery Committee, adopting goals for the restoration of Locust Grove Cemetery - a protective fence, conservation work on the headstones, a new flagpole, interpretive signage, and a permanent rostrum for Memorial Day observances - goals that would estimate $25-30,000.
"We parted that night enthusiastic... but certainly anxious about the challenge that lay before us" ~ Steven Burg
The Locust Grove Cemetery Committee, Shippensburg Historical Society, Shippensburg University and the community, came together, through their differences, and on October 26, 2007 goals were met as the last headstone had been addressed.
Point indicates location of the Locust Grove Cemetery Committee. Here is where the Locust Grove Restoration Campaign came to life.
Recognition
In anticipation of the Civil War sesquicentennial in 2011, the State Department of Economic and Community Development encouraged Cumberland County, among other counties in Pennsylvania, to identify their own Civil War sites. One specific theme out of four was "African Americans' defense of the Commonwealth". Locust Grove Cemetery was chosen to be 1 of 8 sites recognized within the county.
Furthermore, on May 28, 2007 a Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission Historical Marker was dedicated, becoming the official public interpretation of the cemetery's significance.
Marker coordinates: N 40° 03.384 W 077° 30.895
Point indicates exact location of Locust Grove Cemetery historical marker
