Elias Allen Gravestone Dedication

Name: Elias Allen Gravestone Dedication
Start: 2025-09-20T10:00:00-04:00
Location: Greendale Cemetery

Schedule

Sat, 20 Sep, 2025 at 10:00 am

UTC-04:00

Location

Greendale Cemetery | Meadville, PA

The Crawford County Historical Society, through the support and generosity of the community, has raised the necessary funds to provide Elias Allen with the gravestone he deserves - to mark his final resting place for the first time at Greendale Cemetery. At 10am on Saturday, September 20th, the community is invited to Greendale for the dedication of the headstones for Mr. Elias Allen and his daughter Armeado. Following the dedication, a wreath will be placed at the nearby grave of Judge Pearson Church to honor his significant role in the 1880 school desegregation case.
In the fall of 1880, Elias Allen, a man of color, petitioned for a court order compelling the Meadville school controllers to admit his children to South Ward School (the site of Second District Elementary), the all white school only a quarter of a mile from his home. Challenging Pennsylvania state law, President Judge Pearson church granted the petition ruling that racially segregated schools were fundamentally unconstitutional. This ruling set the stage for the 1881 state legislation prohibiting racial discrimination in public school admissions, roughly seventy-five years before the national ruling by the United States Supreme Court.
For more information about the Crawford County Historical Society, its programs, and holdings, visit their website at www.crawfordhistorical.org or call 814-724-6080.