Brown family descendants and local history enthusiasts will gather at an abolitionist's hilltop grave in the Altadena foothills on Saturday, July 4, to mark America's 250th birthday with readings from a 167-year-old antislavery document.
The Owen Brown Gravesite Committee is organizing the morning ceremony at Little Round Top, the burial site of Owen Brown, third-oldest son of abolitionist John Brown and a participant in the 1859 raid on Harpers Ferry. The program centers on the "Declaration of Liberty," written by John and Owen Brown for July 4, 1859, which called for the immediate end of slavery and universal rights for all people, including women.
Michele Zack, chair of the Owen Brown Gravesite Committee and an Altadena historian who has authored three books on local history, has spent decades championing the site's recognition. "Just like the Civil Rights Movement, you think about it only taking place in the South," Zack told the Pasadena Star-News in January. "But it also took place in the West."
Brown family descendants and representatives from Altadena Heritage, the Altadena Chamber of Commerce, Pasadena Unified School District, and the Pasadena Civil War Roundtable will read excerpts from the Declaration during the ceremony. Live music and light refreshments will follow.
The celebration comes after a string of milestones for the gravesite. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously nominated it as a county historic landmark in February 2024, with official designation confirmed December 10, 2024. In January 2026, the U.S. National Park Service added the site to its Network to Freedom program, which recognizes more than 800 locations connected to the Underground Railroad. The committee is also developing a short documentary with filmmaker Pablo Miralles for classroom use in Pasadena Unified schools.
Owen Brown escaped Harpers Ferry and lived as a fugitive for 20 years before settling in the Altadena foothills around 1881 with his brother Jason. When he died of pneumonia in January 1889, roughly 2,000 mourners, Black and white, marched from a Pasadena church to witness his burial on the hilltop. The site survived the January 2025 Eaton Fire.
How to attend:
- In person: Meet at 9 a.m. Saturday, July 4, at the top of El Prieto Road for a 15-minute hike to the gravesite. Space is limited; registration required.
- Livestream: Watch from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Saturday, July 4. Registration required.
Visit altadenaheritage.org for registration details.
