Klu Klux Klan Riot in Lilly

The Memorial Plaque

     Along my journeys on the back roads of Pennsylvania I came across the little town of Lilly. The town has only a population around 900 now but in its prime was a bustling mining town in the early 1900s. Over the years I have found that every town has a story. Even the smallest of towns has some unique or memorable history. Even the small town of Lilly has a story. In fact, historians have claimed the town played a pivotal role in American history. Not to bad for a little mining town in central PA.

      In the 1900s there was a huge influence of the Ku Klux Klan in America and in Pennsylvania. At one time almost every county in Pennsylvania housed a chapter of the Klan. While most of the southern members of the Klan were outspokenly against African-americans, the northern part were mainly against immigrants. The Italian and Irish Catholic immigrants were usually targeted more than others. In the 1920s the town of Lilly was a majority of Catholic with about 10% of Protestant faith. The Klansmen had been active in the area for some time, but the town made it a constant effort to remove crosses they had placed and keep their activity to a minimum.

       On the evening of April 5^th 1924 the towns courage and strength would be put to the test. Two trains carrying over 400 armed Klansmen came to Lilly. A few of the towns people who were either klan members or sympathizers and helped them to cut all the power to the town and cut timber for 2 crosses to burn right outside of the towns limits. The Klansmen marched through the town and into the field and had their ceremony of cross burning and exploding dynamite to intimidate the townspeople While the ceremony was taking place the towns people were starting to collect in the streets. They were not intimidated and began to form a riot against the Klan.

      Once the Klan finished their ceremony, they began their way back to the train station and were met by the angry townspeople of Lilly. Armed with few firearms and fire hoses the townspeople rioted against the Klansmen being in their home and successfully drove them out. A few casualties happened on both sides with many wounded. The story made national headlines about how the small town stood up and took action against them. Later that year after the Klansmen's march in Washington D.C., their numbers started to decline.

      For many years the people of Lilly didn't talk about the night of April 5^th 1924.Slowly as the residents of Lilly became older they started to tell their stories to future generations and these are well documented in many local history books. A little over 80 years had passed and in 2008 a memorial was erected, dedicated to the riot against the Klansmen by the people of Lilly. The memorial sits next to the Railroad that runs through Lilly on the corner of Railroad St. and Cleveland St. Every town has a story and Lilly's residents have one to be proud of.

Inscription Below the Memorial Plaque