Duffy's Cut Mass Grave
Willistown Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Nearby is the mass grave of fifty-seven Irish immigrant workers who died in August, 1832, of cholera. They had recently arrived in the United States and were employed by a construction contractor, named Duffy, for the Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad. Prejudice against Irish Catholics contributed to the denial of care to the workers. Their illness and death typified the hazards faced by many 19th century immigrant industrial workers.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
In August 1832, fifty-seven Irish immigrants, newly landed and desperate for work, were digging railroad line for a contractor named Duffy when cholera swept through their camp. Feared as carriers of disease and scorned as Irish Catholics, they were largely left to die, and their bodies were buried together in a hidden trench. The mass grave nearby holds them still.
Why it matters
Duffy's Cut is a stark memorial to the immigrant laborers who built America's transportation network at deadly cost, and to the prejudice that too often decided who received care and who did not.
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Related events
- ¡ 1832 cholera deaths at Duffy's Cut
Themes & tags
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