A Labor of Love Becomes a National Landmark

This spring, the National Park Service named Shippensburg’s Locust Grove Cemetery to the National Registry of Historic Places, acknowledging it as a significant historic site that reflects two centuries of African American history and culture in south-central Pennsylvania. The moment also recognized the collaborative efforts of Dr. Steve Burg, professor of history, Ship students, and the Locust Grove Cemetery Committee.

Sometime before 1834, the African American community constructed the town’s first Black church, the Richard Baker AME Church. A cemetery, located on North Queen Street also was established. Originally a slave burial ground, the location later served the community’s growing free-Black population. The African American community continued to expand rapidly in the decades before the Civil War as the town attracted both free Black families and recently freed slaves from the South.

The cemetery includes the graves of twenty-six African American Civil War veterans, including John and James Shirk who served with the 54th and 55th Massachusetts regiments, as well as military veterans representing American conflicts from the Spanish American War through Vietnam. For over 100 years, the community has held a Memorial Day program to honor those veterans.

Burg determined the location was eligible for the National Registry in 2011, based on research he conducted with students. In 2019, Burg and students in the Applied History graduate program prepared a formal nomination and supporting documentation to have the site listed on the National Register. This was

part of a larger collaboration including the Locust Grove Cemetery Committee, Shippensburg University, the Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office, and Pennsylvania Hallowed Grounds—a statewide nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving Pennsylvania’s African American cemeteries.

“It is a blessing to receive this honor,” said Nancy Hodge, a member of the Locust Grove Cemetery Committee. “Many people have cared for the cemetery through the years, and we are grateful to everyone who has supported the cemetery and helped us to honor those buried there, especially our military veterans.”

By the time the cemetery made the list, many of the students who contributed to the moment had graduated and left Ship, starting their own careers. But for one student, the moment came full circle. David Maher, the National Register Reviewer at the State Historic Preservation Office at the time, helped to shepherd the application through the complex nomination process. He was familiar with the Locust Grove Cemetery because he was one of the undergraduate students who helped research the site. He spent most of the summer of 2006 at the cemetery with Burg researching its history and helping to repair and reset damaged tombstones.

“This has been a labor of love, working with my students and colleagues across the state and with the Locust Grove Cemetery Committee members to uncover this history and to help preserve this important place,” Burg said. “ The Locust Grove Cemetery is one of the oldest African American cemeteries in Pennsylvania, and it is an amazing place to connect with over two centuries of Pennsylvania’s African American history. It took a lot of time and effort to get to this point, but hopefully our efforts will help to protect and preserve this site for future generations.”

Burg actively continues these preservation efforts with ongoing cleanup and research projects. As a coordinator for the university’s First-Year Experience Program, Burg often organizes servicelearning opportunities for students at the cemetery. While cleaning the grounds and markers, students gain a unique connection to the people who made their homes in Shippensburg, as well as the contributions they made to the community.