HISTORY · HISTORICAL MARKER
African American Life
Thornbury, Pennsylvania
· 1834 - 1902
History
1
Middle-class African Americans thrived in southeastern Pennsylvania long before that was common in other parts of the nation. Frederick Douglass gave many speeches in the area, and in the late 1800's Thornbury citizens elected a black judge, Squire Hazzard. Quaker attitudes of tolerance and job opportunities such as those at Thornbury's quarry helped African Americans prosper. They sustained a strong community at the Thornbury African Methodist Church, whose roots reach back to before 1834. In 1902, The Institute for Colored Youth moved to George Cheyney's farm. Founded in 1837, it is the oldest historically black college in the United States. Today it is known as Cheyney University of Pennsylvania.
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