Richard Henderson. Born a slave in Maryland in 1801, he escaped as a boy and about 1824 came to Meadville. A barber, he was long active in the Underground Railroad. His Arch Street house, since torn down, is estimated to have harbored some 500 runaway slaves prior to the Civil War.
Liberty & Arch Sts., next to Bethel AME Church, Meadville, PA, United States
Allegheny College. Oldest college in continuous existence under the same name west of the Allegheny Mountains. Founded 1815. Chartered 1817. The college's first president, Timothy Alden, was architect of Bentley Hall, which became the center of administration.
N. Main St. (PA 86) at Sherman St., Meadville, PA, United States
Raymond Philip Shafer (1917-2006). Pa. State Senator, 1959-63, Lt. Governor, 1963-67, and Governor, 1967-71. The 1874 state charter was substantially reformed at a constitutional convention during his term. He promoted improvements in welfare, transportation, education, and environment, and public sector unionization. He became counsel to Vice President Rockefeller and chair of the US/China Committee. A WWII veteran and Allegheny College president, his first law office was here.
911 Diamond Park, Meadville, PA, United States
Desegregation of Pennsylvania Schools. An event here in September 1880 led to the end of segregation by race in the state's public schools. At the South Ward schools, Elias Allen tried unsuccessfully to enroll his two children. He appealed to the Crawford County Court of Common Pleas, and Judge Pearson Church declared unconstitutional the 1854 state law mandating separate schools for Negro children. This law was amended, effective July 4, 1881, to prohibit such segregation.
S. Main St., The Second District School, Meadville, PA, United States
Crawford County. Formed March 12, 1800 from Allegheny County. Meadville, in 1788, was the first permanent settlement in northwest Pennsylvania. In 1842 the nation's first direct primary was held here. Cradle of the oil and zipper industries. Named for Col. William Crawford.
County Courthouse, 903 Diamond Park, Meadville, PA, United States
Birthplace of the Direct Primary. Here in Crawford County on Sept. 9, 1842, direct primary elections were born when county Democrats used this system to nominate county offices. Republicans here began voting by this method in 1860. This "Crawford County System" gradually spread to other counties and to other states. By the early 20th century, it had become the nation's standard system for selecting party nominees for most offices.
Diamond Park at the Courthouse, Meadville, PA, United States
Baldwin House. Two blocks west from here is the home built in 1841 by Justice Henry Baldwin. Appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1830. As a member of Congress in 1816 to 1822, he was an early protective tariff advocate.
Baldwin St. near Park Ave., Meadville, PA, United States