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Historical Markers
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LeMoyne House Historical Marker
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Name:
LeMoyne House

Region:
Pittsburgh Region

County:
Washington

Marker Location:
49 East Maiden Street, Washington

Dedication Date:
August 1953

Behind the Marker

The LeMoyne family originally came to America to escape the excessive violence and chaos of the French Revolution. Francis Julius LeMoyne followed his father into the profession of medicine.

The LeMoyne House stands as one of the best preserved Underground Railroad sites in the United States. It is on the National Register of Historic Places and has been officially designated by the National Park Service as a National Historic Landmark of the Underground Railroad.

In addition to building the first crematory in the United States, Dr. Francis LeMoyne also designed the oven, shown here.
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In addition to building the first crematory in the United States, Dr. Francis...
Dr. Francis LeMoyne was an active abolitionist who founded the Washington County Antislavery Society in 1835. Because of his leadership efforts, he was nominated by other abolitionists (under the banner of the Liberty Party) for vice president of the United States in 1840 and for governor of Pennsylvania on three different occasions. He declined each nomination, but his name appeared on the ballots anyway.

Local tradition maintains that the LeMoynes worked together as a family to hide runaways in their Washington County home. Recollections from their eight children suggest that as many as 25 fugitives stayed in the residence at one time. After the Civil War, Dr. LeMoyne remained active in social causes, including support for equal rights for women and the advancement of newly freed slaves. In 1870, his donation of $20,000 established a school for freedmen, the LeMoyne Normal and Commercial School in Memphis, Tennessee. Francis Julius LeMoyne died in 1879 at the age of 81.

 
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