Eden Cemetery (Collingdale, Pennsylvania)

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

Eden Cemetery
Eden Cemetery Entrance
Details
Established1902
Location
1434 Springfield Road, Collingdale, Pennsylvania
CountryUnited States
Typeprivate
Size53 acres
No. of graves93,000
Websitewww.edencemetery.org
Find a GraveEden Cemetery
Eden Cemetery
Coordinates39°55′20″N 75°16′24″W
NRHP reference No.10001031[1]
Added to NRHPDecember 13, 2010
Eden Cemetery
World War I Pennsylvania Colored Soldier Memorial in Eden Cemetery

History

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]

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.[9] 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 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.[9]

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]

Notable interments
Charles Albert Tindley gravestone

Footnotes
  1. "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. "Historic Eden Cemetery - Our History". www.edencemetery.org. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  4. "Historic Eden Cemetery - Eden Stories". www.edencemetery.org. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  5. Romero, Melissa. "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, Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 978-0-8122-5038-1. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
  8. Keels 2003, p. 79.
  9. Farrell, Joelle. "200 headstones toppled at Delco cemetery". www.inquirer.com. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  10. "Famous Memorials - Find A Grave Cemetery". www.findagrave.com. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  11. "John C. Bowers". www.findagrave.com. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  12. "Octavius Valentine Catto". www.findagrave.com. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  13. "Henrietta S. Duterte · Mobility, Migration, and the 1855 Philadelphia National Convention · ColoredConventions.org". coloredconventions.org. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  14. McCarthy, Jade. "Fan Buys Tombstone For Philly Boxing Great". www.phillyboxinghistory.com. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  15. "PHILLY BOXING HISTORY". www.phillyboxinghistory.com. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  16. Article on Fauset's grave at PhillyGraves.com Archived 2007-12-31 at the Wayback Machine
  17. Costello, Rory. "S.K. Govern". www.sabr.org. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  18. Magazine, Cape May (7 September 2017). "Stephen Smith: Cape May's Underground Railroad Leader". Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  19. "Stephen Smith (1796-1873) - Find A Grave Memorial". www.findagrave.com. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  20. "William Still (1821-1902) - Find A Grave Memorial". www.findagrave.com. Retrieved 10 June 2019.

References
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