Locust Grove Cemetery

Locust Grove Cemetery is a unique piece of history for Shippensburg’s African American Community. The cemetery was originally created for free and enslaved African Americans. 

Locust Grove Cemetery was created in 1842 by the donation of land from Edward Shippen, and was the only public cemetery in the Shippensburg area open to African Americans up until the late 20th century. Originally there was an AME church built on the land but in the subsequent years, it became used exclusively as a cemetery.

The cemetery is home to the remains of 26 veterans of the Civil War and home to the remains of 47 veterans total. The 47 veterans participated in every major conflict between the Civil War and Vietnam.

The cemetery became somewhat dilapidated after decades with little maintenance and after the defacement of some gravestones by vandals, which necessitated a need for a thorough restoration of the area. The Locust Grove Cemetery Restoration Project was conducted by the Shippensburg Applied History Program in coordination with the Locust Grove Cemetery Committee and the Shippensburg Historical Society, in addition to other grassroots supporters and groups.

Conclusion

We sincerely hope you had a meaningful tour of the sites selected for interpretation. As a reminder, the tour sites were certainly not all-inclusive, and many other sites exist that would also warrant attention and further study. We are hopeful that the conversations started as the result of this tour do not end with this tour, and that you will use your interest in this history to help further society's understanding of the difficult topic of segregation and race relations in America.