Downtown Harrisburg in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
A Gathering At The Crossroads
From January 15th, 2019 through June 30, 2020, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania commemorated the crossroads of two historic events - the 150th anniversary of the 15th amendment, giving African Americans the right to vote and the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment, granting the vote to women. Harrisburg's Old 8th Ward once bordered the capitol. It served as an incubator for advocacy during the years between the two legislative landmarks - 1870 and 1920. Great orators frequently inspired the community to practice and preserve their right to vote! The four persons gathered here at the crossroads of time and place, Jacob T. Compton, Thomas Morris Chester, William H. Day and Frances E. W. Harper, exemplify the families who prevailed in the Old 8th Ward. family names are inscribed on the orator's pedestal around which the four stand. Step amongst them and imagine yourself as an Old 8th advocate for the value of the vote.
"The Catalyst of the Project" Lenwood Sloan
John Q. Adams Minister Anne Amos Garnett League Aquila Amos Parade Marshall Rosco C. Astwood State Worker Frisby Battis Council William Battis Storekeeper Gwendolyn Bennett Artist-Poet J. Robbin Bennett Attorney Mary Bennett Businesswoman A. Dennee Bibb Policeman Josephine L. Bibb Household of
this page online
Jane Chester Restauranteur Maude Coleman YWCA Founder Turner Cooper Carpenter Jacob Costley Musician Charles Crampton Physician Dorothy Curtis Soprano J. Steward Davis Attorney William R. Dorsey Constable Alice Dunbar-Nelson Writer
William McDonald Felton Aeroplane School Edith Fields Enumerator Benjamin J. Foote Council Theodore Frye Hotel Owner John Gaitor Caterer George Galbraith Politician Henry H. Garnett Minister James Grant Masonic Harrriett Harrison Teacher Walter Hooper Undertaker Layton Howard Publisher James H. W. Howard Council O. L. C. Hughes Attorney George H. Imes Teacher Spencer P. Irvin Teacher C. Sylvester Jackson Accountant
Zacariah Johnson 15 Amendment Leonard Z. Johnson Sr. Professor William Jones Physician Hannah Jones Churchwoman William H. Jones Physician Agnes Kemp Physician Morris H. Layton Jr. Physician Morris
Robert J. Nelson State Worker Charlotte Newman Household of Ruth Luther Newman Teacher William Parson Pharmacist Horace Payne Teacher Catherine Payne-Campbell Teacher Esther Popel Teacher Joseph B. Popel Abolitionist
Harriett M. Marshall UGRR William E. Marshall Pharmacist William H. Marshall Teacher Jesse Mathews Publisher Catherine McClintock UGRR Mildred Mercer Musician Maud D. Molson Lecturer Percy C. Moore Council
Daniel Potter Sr. Churchman Rosabelle Quann Student Aubrey Robinson Student Laura Robinson Civil War Monument
John P. Scott Teacher Hannah Scott-Cannon Nurse John W. Simpson Alderman Ephriam Slaugher USCT
Susan Sophes Household of Ruth Hattie StClair-Grant Teacher David Stevens Minister James Stocks Minister Colonel Strothers Baseball James Stuart Teacher Matilda Stuart Missionary Annie Summers Teacher
Henry H. Summers Professor Joseph H. Thomas Undertaker Josiah Walls Congressman Charlotte Weaver Teacher Daniel Webster Fugitive Slave Clarence Williams Baseball William Williams Policeman John H. Wolf Abolitionist Eliza Zedericks Hairdresser
Roll Call of Duty:
Lenwood Sloan Jeb Stuart
At the third Session, Begun and held at the city of Washington, on Monday, the seventh day of December, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight.
A Resolution Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, (two-thirds of both Houses concurring) that the following article be proposed to the legislature of the several States as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States which, when ratified by three-fourths of said legislatures shall be valid as part of the Constitution, namely:
Article XV.
Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude
Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Erected by
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Civil Rights • Women. A significant historical date for this entry is December 7, 1868.
Location. 40° 15.788′ N, 76° 52.87′ W. Marker is in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in Dauphin County. It is in Downtown Harrisburg. It is on Walnut Street south of Aberdeen Street, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 405 Walnut St, Harrisburg PA 17101, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in South-Central Pennsylvania, specifically in Pennsylvania Dutch Country, and in the Susquehanna Valley. It is also in the American Northeast and in the Mid-Atlantic. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy and also one of the original Thirteen Colonies.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: A Bench by the Road: Old Eighth Ward of Harrisburg (here, next to this marker); Walnut Place (a few steps from this marker); Underground Railroad (within shouting distance of this marker); a different marker also named Underground Railroad (within shouting distance of this marker); Leaders, Stewards and Advocates / Trailblazers (within shouting distance of this marker); Technical High School & Old City Hall (within shouting distance of this marker); Original Capitol Complex (within shouting distance of this marker); Mexican War Monument (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Harrisburg.
Credits. This page was last revised on August 5, 2024. It was originally submitted on August 5, 2024, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 409 times since then and 62 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. submitted on August 5, 2024, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
