Historical marker unveiled on Baltimore Pike
SPRINGFIELD — The air was filled with excitement on Thursday as the newest Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission historical marker was unveiled and dedicated at 1301 Baltimore Pike in Springfield.
The marker honors attorney Caroline Burnham Kilgore (1838-1909), a trailblazer and legal scholar who fought for 14 years for the right to attend law school, the right to take the bar exam and the right to practice in the state courts.
After her win in 1883, Kilgore became the first woman to practice law in the Pennsylvania state courts. Kilgore was a trailblazer in other ways, too, being the first woman to be admitted to the bar in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the first woman admitted to the Supreme Court of the United States.
In 1871, Kilgore, a woman's suffrage advocate, attempted to vote in the election in the 14th Ward in Philadelphia. Her ballot was refused because she was a woman. She appealed to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in 1873. Her case was rejected by the court.
Preceding the marker unveiling, a short ceremony took place on the front lawn of the Susan Triggiani Insurance Agency By The Mall. The marker stands curbside, directly in front of the business.
The star of the day at the unveiling was Delaware County resident Robyn Young, known locally as "The Marker Lady." Young received approval for the installation of the Kilgore marker in 2023.
This is Young's 25th Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission marker. She simply calls her passion for bringing recognition to important Pennsylvania people and historical events "a hobby."
"I want to get more women recognized," Young said. "I research my subjects and submit about three nominations a year and usually get at least one approved."
Young's niece, Mary Elbanna, a second year law student at University of Pennsylvania, was also in attendance and spoke.
"My Aunt Robyn has been a lifelong advocate of women's rights," Elbanna proudly told the small crowd. "As a law student at Penn, where Caroline attended, I especially admire this marker as she made it possible for all women, including myself, to go through law school."
Other guest speakers at the unveiling event, hosted by property owners Susan Triggiani and Joe Morrison, included attorney Jennifer DiPillo, chair of the Women in the Section of Law Committee of the Delaware County Bar Association; Megan Cortese, Springfield Township 7th Ward commissioner; Marty Spiegal, mayor of Swarthmore; and Allison Dorsey, commissioner of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
Spiegal said, "Swarthmore has a lot of extraordinary people, past and present. I didn't even find out about Caroline Kilgore until yesterday. I learned her family lived at 518 Walnut Lane and she died at her family home here."
Dorsey, professor emerita of history at Swarthmore College, said there are 2,600 historical markers spread across Pennsylvania and that the marker program is the one of the most popular programs in the commission. The commission's marker program captures the stories of people or events in history and places markers along Pennsylvania's roads for the public to enjoy.
"We hope that our historical markers are never the end of the story, but rather the beginning," she said. "I hope this particular marker will inspire women and girls to pursue whatever field they wish."
The new historical marker was installed by Springfield Township officials and is visible to pedestrians and traffic traveling eastward on Baltimore Pike in Springfield.
