Altadena Dedication Event Honors Local History Icons Owen Brown, Robert Owens, and Biddy Mason

[UPDATED] The Owen Brown Gravesite Committee is hosting a special dedication event on Saturday, Dec. 9, where two new interpretive signs at the El Prieto Fire Road Trail near La Cañada Flintridge will be unveiled at 10 a.m. 

The occasion aims to celebrate the enduring legacy of historical figures Owen Brown, Robert Owens, and Biddy Mason, highlighting their important roles in American history. The event begins from the top of El Prieto Road in Altadena Meadows; walk up the driveway of Lincoln Avenue Water Company reservoir and a large brown sign will direct spectators.

One of the two signs honors Brown and his family’s significant role in American history.  It explains why many abolitionists coming west after the Civil War settled in the Pasadena area (before Altadena even existed.)

The other sign is for Robert Owens, the man for whom El Prieto Canyon is named. He was a former slave who purchased his freedom, came to Pasadena in the 1850s, and became very successful. His story connects to that of Biddy Mason, a woman whose freedom was gained in an 1856 legal case in Los Angeles; Mason is also honored on the sign.

“The Owen Brown family were probably the most famous abolitionist family in America,” Michele Zack, Chair of the Owen Brown Gravesite Committee, said. “They did a lot to make the northern states feel more strongly that we couldn’t continue to have slavery, that it went against American ideals.”

The signs will also serve as a testament to the thematic connection between Brown and Owens and the El Prieto Canyon. Translated in English, El Prieto means “the dark one.” 

“After 135 years, it’s really important that we are finally having public recognition and interpretive signs that will help share this extremely significant history,” Zack explained. 

The unveiling ceremony will be followed by an opportunity for attendees to visit Owen Brown’s restored gravesite, which now features benches for visitors. 

“One speaker is going to be a teacher: Tamyke Edwards from Pasadena Unified,” Zack said. “She’s been our partner along with Pablo Miralles who’s a filmmaker; she’s going to talk about the educational programs that are going to be in our local schools, so that should be great.” 

Zack acknowledged the challenges faced in bringing this project to fruition, noting that the Altadena Heritage first tried to have Owen Brown’s gravesite designated a historic landmark in 1989. 

The dedication event on Saturday is free to attend, providing the community with a unique opportunity to engage with and honor local history. 

“Once the community is educated and people understand this history, I think it makes for more informed citizens who are able to actually draw the connection between the 1850s, a very divided time in America, running up to the Civil War, and today, where our country is, again, extremely divided along political lines,” Zack concluded. 

To read more about Owen Brown’s gravesite, visit https://altadenaheritage.org/browns-grave/.