Movies

Column: Did a famous grave in the Altadena hills survive the fires?

BBG News

1 Option: For 136 years, a grave was situated on a small hilltop overlooking Altadena, known as Little Round Top, while the surrounding community flourished and grew.

2 Option: On top of Little Round Top, overlooking Altadena, there was a grave that remained for 136 years as the area below it continued to prosper.

3 Option: A cemetery on Little Round Top hill, above Altadena, has held a grave for 136 years while the community beneath it grew and thrived.

4 Option: For 136 years, a grave stood atop Little Round Top, overlooking Altadena, as the town below it developed and expanded.

5 Option: Since 1865, a grave has sat on top of Little Round Top hill, overlooking Altadena, while the area below it evolved and bloomed.

The remains of Owen Brown, the son of renowned abolitionist John Brown, now rest here. In the 1880s, Owen made Pasadena his home, and he was warmly welcomed by locals who admired him for his role fighting alongside his father during the Bleeding Kansas conflicts and the Harper’s Ferry uprising. His funeral in 1889 was attended by thousands of mourners, and he was buried near a cabin where he and his brother spent their final days.

In the early 2000s, the grave, initially regarded with reverence, turned into a source of conflict when the owner of Little Round Top started discouraging onlookers. Legal actions were taken to advocate for public access. Eventually, Brown’s tombstone went missing for about ten years before it was discovered far down the hill.

The public can now visit the place where he was laid to rest following its restoration in 2018 thanks to a $300,000 donation from a new owner. In December, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors recognized it as a historical landmark, and it is now managed by the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy.

On Wednesday, the story about Owen was set to receive its greatest public presentation yet at Mountain View Cemetery, a place where two of his siblings are laid to rest and a plaque bearing his name and likeness is displayed. Altadena resident and filmmaker Pablo Miralles had planned to unveil a 20-minute documentary about Owen’s life.

World & Nation

The decayed remains of John Brown rest within his tomb, yet his spirit continues to move forward with strength and determination.

On Facebook, I picked up knowledge about the screening. Additionally, I found out on Facebook that Miralles and his family tragically lost their home in the Eaton fire.

Miralles and his son hastily departed, taking crucial documents, photographs, and a painting that his grandmother had painted during her escape from the Nazi invasion of the Netherlands. Regrettably, they left behind Miralles’ work journal and the last pay slips for his team. Fortunately, the documentary was previously uploaded online, but it’s uncertain when or if it will be shown.

Last week at Stumptown Coffee in Pasadena, Miralles stated that just as everyone is searching for a home, so too are we. “I take great pride in my movie,” he added, “but its release can be delayed.

Among all potential filmmakers, Miralles might have been particularly suited to create a documentary about Owen Brown. His parents, Argentinian immigrants, relocated from Eagle Rock to Altadena in the 1970s, finding a spacious home for their family of seven. Disregarding advice labeling Altadena as risky, they financed the property purchase through a black-owned bank, as their regular bank declined due to comments about the house being located on a predominantly black street. As Miralles shared, this was their reason.

60-year-old Miralles reflects on a peaceful childhood spent in a diverse haven that significantly impacted his life and later served as inspiration. He produced a critically acclaimed documentary detailing how his former school, John Muir High in Pasadena, reverted to segregation as white families opted for private and charter education. Last year, Miralles penned and directed a play depicting an unlikely friendship between two prominent figures from the City of Roses, Julia Child and Jackie Robinson. (I was featured in his 2012 documentary exploring the intense soccer rivalry between the U.S. and Mexico).

He expressed, “I hadn’t anticipated taking on the coverage of Pasadena as extensively as I have, but given my background from a town with a history of hardship, it seems like something I just had to do.

In 2019, Altadena’s allure drew Miralles back to become a resident again. By that time, he had already created a four-minute video for the Owen Brown Gravesite Committee, highlighting their mission.

According to Miralles, who hadn’t known much about [John Brown] then, you learn in school that he was a violent and insane individual aiming to murder white slave owners. However, upon reading his writings, he was not as portrayed.

Miralles’ brief movie left a strong impression on committee head, Michele Zack. She urged Miralles to create an extended version suitable for presentation in Pasadena Unified School District classrooms.

In American history, Owen participated alongside his father in contentious battles that were associated with John Brown. Specifically, in Kansas, during clashes between abolitionists and pro-slavery colonizers, Owen fatally wounded a man. While his father led the attack on Harper’s Ferry in 1859, Owen remained to safeguard weapons and horses. This raid ultimately resulted in the deaths of two of Owen’s brothers and John Brown’s arrest, leading to his eventual execution.

Zack, who unfortunately lost her home in the Eaton fire, remarked, “The events of the 1850s feel strikingly similar to what we’re experiencing today.” She went on to say, “It might seem like we’re divided now, but believe it or not, we were even more so divided during the 1850s. Owen Brown serves as a powerful symbol of that time, and remarkably, this piece of history is right here in our own community.

She still wants to screen the Brown documentary to the public — but not any time soon.

Despite the ongoing hardship, sorrow, and struggle, we won’t delay [the film] for several years,” Zack explained.

Miralles and his crew were meticulously completing their work on the project when suddenly, the Eaton fire mandated an evacuation (fortunately, his house survived).

Miralles emphasized that the concept of being rooted in the principles of the original abolitionists, whose physical remains are still present, holds significant importance. It’s crucial for us as a community to uphold the values this nation was founded upon by Owen, which includes standing firm to preserve diversity locally.

He glanced at the picture on his phone’s main screen to see the time. The image showcased them – him, his spouse, their child, and the pair of dogs – at their house from early January.

California

Long-missing grave marker offers chance to honor people of tolerance

We climbed into his SUV and headed towards Altadena. Our intention was first to check on the remains of his house that had been destroyed, followed by a visit to Brown’s gravesite to see if it had survived the ordeal unharmed. Neither he nor Zack were aware of its condition at that point.

Miralles passed by his old elementary school, Franklin Elementary – reduced to ruins. Only a chimney stood as remnant of the dwelling where his brother resided. “Look at all my old friends,” Miralles remarked sorrowfully, moving his gaze from side to side. “Blocks upon blocks upon blocks,” he added, emphasizing the vastness.

He opted against stopping at his house due to not wanting to don hazmat gear once more. Instead, we navigated through one checkpoint after another – “Military vehicles in my neighborhood, quite surreal” – before reaching a winding road that terminated close to Brown’s grave.

Warning signs were posted everywhere, advising individuals to continue at their own peril. One sign explicitly stated, “Trespassers will be met with force.” Others indicated that the fire hazard was at its peak.

The asphalt road transformed into a single, rocky dirt path winding towards Angeles National Forest. Miralles found parking next to an old, deserted vehicle that once stood where Owen’s cabin previously existed. Not long after, a staff member from the California Conservation Corps came over to inquire about our activities up there.

Miralles explained the purpose of our visit. The worker nodded.

He questioned himself as to why there appeared to be a path leading upwards, pointing towards Little Round Top, then returned to remove more undergrowth.

Initially, the path was narrow and had a sharp decline that made me focus on moving forward instead of jotting down notes in my journal. Bright yuccas, scrub oaks, and sagebushes grew beside parched chaparral. Throughout our journey, informational signs were placed, recounting the tales of two pioneers from Black Los Angeles: Biddy Mason, a formerly enslaved woman who amassed wealth as a property owner in downtown LA, and Robert Owens, a prosperous businessman and Mason’s relative by marriage, who once gathered firewood in the very hills we were hiking.

Upon reaching the foot of Little Round Top, famously associated with a significant Civil War engagement, I gazed out upon an Altadena that bore the scars of destruction – a bleak landscape of charred trees and flattened structures.

I asked Miralles what he saw.

“It’s not what I see,” he replied. “It’s what I don’t see.”

Moving forward, we climbed a relatively steep and brief zigzag path leading to a flat, dusty area. Tall pine trees provided shelter over two seats. Ahead lay the resting place of Brown, visible to us.

The outline of stones marked the spot where his body is buried. A heart was etched into the ground nearby. Above the grave stood a tombstone bearing Brown’s name, the span of his life, and the inscription “Son of John Brown the Emancipator.

There were no signs of fire damage. Miralles looked relieved.

He remarked, “This place was once teeming with greenery, but it’s all gone now,” as we gazed upon Altadena once more. To our right in the distance lay La Cañada Flintridge. A streak of pink, indicating fire retardant, stained the valley below.

He expressed his wish that folks would understand the significance of this monument, symbolizing the values that Owen and his family stood for in our nation. As we gazed upon Brown’s grave, his gaze shifted toward his hometown, Altadena, where a cloud of dust had arisen from a nearby neighborhood.

Growing up, I often trekked through these hills. Approximately every 3-4 years, a fire would break out, as mentioned. However, I never imagined such an incident could affect me personally.

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2025-01-28 14:33

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