John Brown's Tannery Site
New Richmond, Pennsylvania
owned and operated by the John Brown Heritage
Association (nonprofit organization)
Meadville, Pennsylania
New Richmond, Pennsylvania
owned and operated by the John Brown Heritage
Association (nonprofit organization)
Meadville, Pennsylania
| After the death of Dianthe Lusk Brown in 1832, the widowed father of five children was aided by a daughter of Charles Day, local blacksmith. Her sister Mary Ann came to help with spinning. John Brown, age 32, proposed to Mary, age 16, by letter slipped into her apron pocket when she went to the spring to get water. Then he followed to get her answer. Their reception took place in Martha and Thomas Delameter's parlor, shown at left. Martha was Mary's older sister. Nephew George Delameter was a friend of John Brown, Jr. throughout their lives. |
| On September 25, 2014, Allies for Freedom editor Jean Libby toured the Tannery Site with Ed Edinger of the John Brown Heritage Association in Meadville, Pennsylvania. Brown operated the tannery from 1826 to 1835, after which he moved with his growing family to Ohio. The Delameter House (called a "stand") is extant. The current resident graciously allowed us to photograph the parlor in which the wedding reception of John and Mary Brown was held in 1833. Martha Day was several years older than her sister Mary. Their mother passed away and Charles married again, Mary Ann Little. Martha married Thomas Delameter in western New York. Both families emigrated to Meadville in the 1820s, when Mary was a child. At that time John Brown and his first wife, Dianthe Lusk, lived at the house above the tannery with their five children--John Brown, Jr., Ruth, Frederick, Jason, and Owen. The grave of Dianthe Lusk Brown and two of her children is behind the house, open as a museum by the owners Gary and Donna Coburn. We went first to the Crawford County Historical Society at 411 Chestnut Street in Meadville and met with Director Annette Lynch. The painted photograph of John Brown made in the 1880s - 1890s by Henry Philip Jacob Sartorius resides in the Baldwin Reynolds House and Museum owned by the Crawford County Historical Society. It was given to them by a descendant of the Delameter family of Meadville. photos and commentary by Jean Libby, Allies for Freedom photograph of Henry Sartorius art by C. J. Dennington, Meadville courtesy Library of Congress Prints and Photographs |
| Interpretation at the John Brown Tannery Site is by Mark Peaster of the John Brown Heritage Association. He tells the story of the 1859 raid at Harpers Ferry as well as the tannery. John Brown of Meadville is a leading citizen and innovator for the community. Peaster credits him with essential development for the town that has become a city in western Pennsylvania. |
| The bronze plaque was created by art teachers and students at nearby Edinburo College in 1938 |
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