Today, twelve buildings form the PA Capitol Complex in Harrisburg. They stand on the site of a once valued, now vanished, community called the Old Eighth Ward. The Eighth Ward was a once thriving, culturally diverse community that developed east of the capitol from the 1850s. Following the dedication of the new state capitol in 1906, the Commonwealth appropriated the district to build the state buildings that now circle Soldier’s Grove.

In 2020, the Commonwealth Monument Project gathered artists, educators, state and local officials, and descendants of the Old Eighth Ward community to remember the communities that once dwelled east of the capitol. This project culminated in August of that year in the dedication of a new bronze monument group, “A Gathering at the Crossroads,” that commemorates the passing of the voting right amendments and the neighborhood’s local African American community.

At the start of 2024, legislative leaders, civic organizers, and corporate sponsors gathered to launch the 2024 Homecoming Jubilee for Democracy in Central Pennsylvania. We are inviting the descendants of the Old Eighth Ward to return for a series of reunions that will be held between Memorial Day 2024 and Juneteenth 2025.

State Representative Justin Fleming’s call to vote on the occasion of Frederick Douglass’ birthday also marks a call for descendants and communities to plan democracy gatherings in capital area public parks and places in 2024.

Our first event will be a Homecoming Jubilee Picnic held on June 22 from 12-4 PM to bring home the descendants of 25 exemplars of the Old Eighth Ward shown in the posters below. Are you a descendant of the women and men shown in the slide show below? If so, join us for the Old 8th Ward Reunion on the Capitol Park.

Learn about the story of the Commonwealth Monument Project: https://harrisburghistorical.org/items/show/6

Read the stories of the communities of the vanished Old Eighth Ward: https://digitalharrisburg.com/commonwealth/lookuplookout/

Meet the inhabitants and street views of the Eighth Ward before destruction: Old Eighth Ward Street View Map.

Learn about about the 100 people named on the pedestal of the monument: https://digitalharrisburg.com/commonwealth/100names/

Learn about the Homecoming Jubilee banners and posters [coming soon]

The Commonwealth Monument Project, a project of The Foundation for Enhancing Communities, is a global network anchor for the International Institute for Peace Through Tourism. The Homecoming Jubilee for Democracy is funded in part by M&T Bank and supported by Dauphin County Commissioners and Messiah University’s Center for Public Humanities.