Announcing the FY 2024 African American Heritage Preservation Program Awardees

Robert W. Johnson Community Center – Washington County ($150,000) | Sponsor: Robert W. Johnson Community Center, Inc.

Funding will help restore the Robert W. Johnson Community Center – founded as a school for Black children in 1888 before becoming a Black YMCA in 1947 – so it can continue to be a place for community events and educational programming. The RWJCC offers after school programming as well as adult education classes. Funding will support renovation of the community pool, plumbing and electrical upgrades, and other renovation efforts.

Hoppy Adams House – Annapolis ($245,000) | Sponsor: Charles W. “Hoppy” Adams Jr. Foundation, Inc.

Known for spreading soul and R&B music to Black and white audiences, Charles “Hoppy” Adams Jr. was a celebrated African American radio broadcaster with WANN Annapolis. Adams hosted popular concerts at Carr’s Beach, an important venue on the Chitlin Circuit during segregation. In 1964, Adams built this expansive brick ranch-style home within the tight-knit Black community of Parole, on land passed down by his family since 1880. Adams lived in the house until his death in 2005. Funding will support ADA compliance efforts, electrical upgrades, and structural support. 

American Hall – Washington County ($250,000) | Sponsor: The Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge, Free And Accepted Masons Of Maryland And Its Jurisdiction, Inc.

The Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge, Free And Accepted Masons Of Maryland And Its Jurisdiction, Inc. , aims to restore American Hall, which was the meeting place of Lyon Post #31 G.A.R. Making it one of the last surviving meeting places of an African American G.A.R. post in the country.  Originally built in 1883, American Hall used to house the fraternal lodge, community meeting space, and a school in the basement. This project aims to rehabilitate the building for further community use with the addition of an exhibit. Funding will support structural repairs, architectural drawings, and a bathroom addition.

Upton Mansion – Baltimore City ($250,000) | Sponsor: Afro Charities, Inc.

Upton Mansion, located in the Old West Baltimore Historic District, was once the home of Robert J. Young, one of Baltimore’s most successful African American real estate developers in the early 20th century. This project aims to restore the mansion as the headquarters for Afro Charities, Afro Archives, and the AFRO American Newspapers. The archives include approximately three million photograms, several thousand letters, back issues of the newspaper’s 13 editions, and personal audio recordings of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. The Upton Mansion will serve as the permanent home and research center for this collection, allowing it to be available to the public. Funding will support new construction of an annex and windows and doors repairs. 

Henry’s Hotel – Worcester County ($250,000) | Sponsor: Henry Hotel Foundation, Inc.

Built in the late 1800s, Henry’s Hotel, formerly known as “Henry’s Colored Hotel,” is one of the oldest hotels in Ocean City. It was also the last hotel that allowed African Americans access to the beach during Jim Crow-era restrictions. This project aims to turn the building into a museum and learning center that will educate the public on how African Americans contributed to the town’s development, yet suffered from discrimination under segregation. Funding will support a new foundation, staircase, and porch.

Historic Oliver Community Firehouse – Baltimore City ($247,000) | Sponsor: African American Fire Fighters Historical Society, Inc.

Built in 1905, the historic firehouse in Baltimore’s Oliver neighborhood, Truck House #5, is a two-story structure with two truck bays that will be acquired from the City through the Vacants to Value program and restored as the International Black FireFighters Museum & Safety Education Center. Funding will support exterior rehabilitation including window repairs as well as carpentry and masonry repairs. 

Brown’s UMC Multi Cultural Heritage Center – Calvert County ($250,000) | Sponsor: Brown’s UMC Multi Cultural Heritage Center, Inc.

Built in the 1890s, the one-room Brown’s United Methodist Church (UMC) serves as a reminder of the days of segregation and is one of the oldest African American churches in Calvert County. Once completed, the UMC Multi-Cultural Heritage Center will have an exhibit showcasing local history within. Rehabilitation of the cemetery will allow for self-guided as well as guided tours of the cemetery. Funding will support foundation repairs, flooring repairs, and a roof replacement.

Buffalo Soldier Living History Site – Wicomico County ($250,000) | Sponsor: Buffalo Soldier Living History Site Co.

Formerly known as the “Colored Settlement,” the Buffalo Soldier Living History Site will be established on a site, bought in 1898, of former Buffalo Soldier Thomas E. Polk. The site aims to revitalize this dwelling by establishing a museum. Exhibits will include preserving local and state African American military history and holding  reenactments. Funding will support selective demolition, structural repairs, and door repairs. 

Brewer Hill Cemetery – Annapolis ($250,000) | Sponsor: Brewer Hill Cemetery Association, Inc.

Brewer Hill Cemetery is the oldest Black graveyard in the City of Annapolis. Judge Nichols Brewer originally owned the cemetery and used it to bury those he enslaved, his servants, and other employees of the Black community. Among the interred are people with significant stories, such as Mary Naylor, who maintained her innocence until her hanging in 1861 for allegedly poisoning her master. Funding will support overall cemetery conservation efforts including fence repairs and masonry repairs.

The Bellevue Passage Museum – Talbot County ($250,000) | Sponsor: Mid-Shore Community Foundation, Inc.

The Bellevue Passage Museum aims to shed light on African American culture and heritage by showcasing the untold story of Bellevue’s self-sufficiency and how they thrived and contributed to the state’s economy. Bellevue was once a self-sufficient African American community that initially was centered around employment provided by the W.H. Valliant Packing Co., established in 1895. The museum is on a mission to conserve the African American maritime story that is largely being erased and to become a center of entrepreneurship to the younger generation and a place for community gatherings. Funding will support construction of a new annex, site work, and accessibility improvements. 

The Fruitland Community Center – Wicomico County ($203,000) | Sponsor: Fruitland Community Center, Inc.

The Fruitland Community Center is housed in the former Morris Street Colored School, constructed in 1912. Since 1985, the building has been used as a community center that assists low-income youth in Fruitland by providing an after school program that seeks to provide educational activities and teaching African American history. Funding will support structural repairs, carpentry and metal repairs, as well as mechanical and electrical upgrades.

Grasonville Community Center – Queen Anne’s County ($250,000) | Sponsor: Grasonville Community Center

Grasonville Community Center aims to connect and share the African American experiences in the community by providing a place where one can go to engage in programs that offer mentorship, physical and mental health guidance, and other resources. Future plans include providing an after school and summer program that will use the Center’s Black History Library and Health Room to teach history to young visitors. Funding will support kitchen upgrades, interior and exterior rehabilitation, and window repairs.

Malone Methodist Episcopal Church – Dorchester County ($250,000) | Sponsor: Harrisville/Malone Cemetery Maintenance Fund, Inc.

Free-born families began settling in Malone in the late 18th century. Malone Methodist Episcopal Church began serving this African American community when it was built in 1895.  The church and community have links to Harriet Tubman’s extended family, who lived in the area and are buried in the cemetery adjacent to the church. Funding will support floor and roof repairs, exterior rehabilitation efforts, and finishes and painting.

Bryan’s Chapel and Cemetery – Queen Anne’s County ($250,000) | Sponsor: Bryan’s United Methodist Church, Inc.

Bryan’s Chapel was founded in the 1800s and is the second oldest African American Methodist Episcopal Church in the United Methodist Peninsula-Delaware Conference. The Bryan’s Church congregation helped establish a school, a beneficial society, and the county’s NAACP Chapter. Shortly after the Civil War, the congregation helped establish an African American school in 1866 that a Rosenwald school later replaced. Funding will support ground penetrating radar, headstone conservation, and foundation and masonry repairs of the Chapel.

Locust United Methodist Church – Howard County ($233,500) | Sponsor: Locust United Methodist Church

Locust United Methodist Church was founded in 1869 by a group of formerly enslaved people in what was then called Freetown (Howard County). The predominantly African American congregation has been active for more than 150 years and in its current structure since 1951. This project will  renovate and add an addition to serve as the home of the current history collection and stories of community members descended from the church’s founders. Funding will support selective demolition, new construction of a pavilion, and interior rehabilitation efforts.

Two Sisters’ Houses (Caulkers’ Houses) – Baltimore City ($250,000) | Sponsor: The Society For The Preservation Of Federal Hill And Fell’s Point, Inc.

Built around 1979, the Two Sisters’ Houses (or Caulkers’ Houses) are the only extant survivors of a wooden building type that was once the predominant housing stock for the lower and middle classes in Baltimore. These once-common buildings were vitally important to the early architectural and physical character of the port city of Baltimore. The buildings housed many working Baltimore residents, including African-American ship caulkers Richard Jones, Henry Scott, and John Whittington from 1842 to 1854. Funding will support fire safety improvements, carpentry and masonry repairs, and mechanical and electrical upgrades. 

The Yellow/Hearse House – Kent County ($200,000) | Sponsor: Kent County Public Library

The Yellow/Hearse House was originally built in 1906 and served most of its existence as the only funeral parlor for those of African descent in Kent County. The Hearse House represents the rich history of Kent County’s African American-owned businesses. This project aims to increase heritage education and tourism in the Calvert Street business and residential corridor, highlighting the Walley family and the neighborhood in which their business, the funeral parlor, existed. Funds will support insulation installation, bathroom and kitchen upgrades, and framing repairs. 

Jones & Moore Luncheon/Bambricks Cards & Gifts – Dorchester County ($138,000) | Sponsor: Alpha Genesis Community Development Corporation

The Jones & Moore Luncheon/Bambricks Cards & Gifts aims to renovate a two-story commercial property located at the corner of Cannery Way.  The rear parking lot of the building is now the viewing area for the nationally acclaimed “Take My Hand” mural of Harriet Tubman. Rehabilitation of the building will help bring new arts and cultural programming as well as other business ventures into the district. Funding will support gutter and downspout repairs, window and door repairs, and roof replacement. 

Mt. Calvary United Methodist Church – Meeting Hall and Cemetery – Anne Arundel County ($186,000) | Sponsor: Mt. Calvary Community Engagement Incorporated

With grant funds supporting both cemetery and building preservation efforts, Mt. Calvary United Methodist Church will establish a heritage center in its Meeting Hall to share the histories of the local African American community in Arnold. The Hall served as the original Meeting House for the African American community between 1832-1842. By preserving the cemetery, where Civil Rights activists and veterans are buried, the church can provide further educational opportunities in addition to programs in the Meeting Hall. Funding will support ground penetrating radar, site work, and foundation and masonry repairs.

Ridgley Methodist Church and Cemetery – Prince George’s County ($111,000) | Sponsor: Mildred Ridgley Gray Charitable Trust, Inc.

Ridgely Methodist Church is one of only two buildings that remain in the small rural African American community of Ridgely, founded by freedmen around 1871. Historically, the church also functioned as a school for the local Black children. By undergoing rehabilitation efforts, the church hopes to increase the awareness of African American history through special programs, lectures, and tours. Funding will support cemetery conservation efforts, ground penetrating radar, and a fence installation.

Scotland African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Zion Church – Montgomery County ($104,000) | Sponsor: Scotland A.M.E. Zion Church

Scotland A.M.E. provides an opportunity for the public to continue to learn the local history of the predominantly African American Scotland community that has persisted for over 115 years as a congregation and 150 years as a community. The project will provide an opportunity for the public to continue to learn the local story of the predominantly African American Scotland community through interpretive panels and stories shared by congregants in public programs Funding will support foundation repairs, lifting the building, and stabilization efforts. 

Bushy Park Community Cemetery – Howard County ($63,500) | Sponsor: Bushy Park Community Cemetery, Inc.

Bushy Park Community Cemetery was historically part of farmland worked by the enslaved populations of Howard County. The cemetery is the burial location of many enslaved and freed individuals, United States Colored Troops soldiers, and Civil Rights leaders. The cemetery’s restoration, supported by grant funds, will allow for educational opportunities centered on those interred there. Funding will support cemetery conservation efforts, ground penetrating radar, and vegetation removal.

James Stephenson House, Enslaved Quarters – Harford County ($119,000) | Sponsor: Maryland Department of Natural Resources

The James Stephenson House, and its associated dwellings, was originally built at the turn of the eighteenth century. The house and quarters are located within Susquehanna State Park. When the quarters building was originally surveyed in the late 1970s, it was mistaken for a smokehouse. The building, now one of the few documented freestanding quarters on public land. Funding will support roof, window, and door repairs, carpentry and masonry repairs, and chimney and shutter repairs.

American Legion Mannie Scott Post 193 Building – Caroline County ($250,000) | Sponsor: The American Legion, Department Of Maryland, Mannie Scott Post #193, Incorporated

Mannie Scott Post No. 193 was chartered in 1947 by the American Legion – a United States veteran association and nonprofit organization created to enhance the well-being of American veterans, their families, military members, and their communities. Post No. 193 is Caroline County’s only African American active post dedicated to those who have served in active duty military in all branches of America’s Armed Forces. Post No. 193 offers programming to the local community that promote justice, freedom, and democracy. Funding will support insulation installation, bathroom and kitchen upgrades, and siding repairs or replacements.

Following Freedom’s Footprints: Exploring MHT’s Easement Sites in the Network to Freedom

By Dr. Brenna Spray, MHT Outreach Coordinator

In honor of International Underground Railroad Month, we want to share some of the Maryland Historical Trust (MHT) easement sites included in the National Park Service’s Network to Freedom, an effort that aims to “honor, preserve and promote the history of resistance to enslavement through escape and flight.” Across the United States, from Maine to Florida and Virginia to Kansas, there are over 740 sites, facilities, and programs; a few even reach as far west as Colorado and California! Maryland hosts nearly 90 of these 740 sites, and MHT holds preservation easements on nine of them, working with property owners to safeguard them in perpetuity. 

Sotterley Plantation (St. Mary’s County)

Cape Coast Castle (Wikicommons)

Sotterley Plantation began in 1703 with James Bowles, the son of a wealthy London merchant who traded tobacco, lumber, livestock, and enslaved people throughout England, West Africa, and the Caribbean. In September of 1720, the Generous Jenny delivered 218 enslaved men, women, and children to Bowles, who had purchased them from the Windward Coast (modern day Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Ivory Coast) and from the Cape Coast Castle on the Gold Coast (modern day Ghana). It remains unclear how many of these enslaved individuals stayed at Sotterley, as on Bowles’ death in 1727, his widow and daughters inherited 41 enslaved people. James Bowles’ daughter, Rebecca, married George Plater II, initiating four generations of Plater ownership at Sotterley Plantation (Our History – Sotterley, 2018). 

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Between the 1780s and 1790s, those enslaved by the Plater family made numerous attempts to seek freedom, including Clem Hill and Towerhill, whose attempts put Sotterley in the Network to Freedom. Clem Hill, described as ‘exceedingly artful’ in his runaway ad, left Sotterley in November 1784 (Plater, 1784). Enslavers in North America specifically targeted western Africa, particularly the Gold Coast, when searching for artisans; is it possible that Clem was descended from the original group of enslaved brought from the Gold Coast to Sotterley (Holloway, 2005, pp. 34, 42–44)? In January 1786, a 25-year-old man named Towerhill left Sotterley, likely aiming for Baltimore – a popular destination for freedom seekers, due to transportation options and the large free Black population (Plater, 1786). Is it possible that he reached the city? We will never know for sure, but Towerhill of Sotterley left two years before the birth of a freeborn man named Towerhill who lived in Baltimore City, according to his 1809 certificate of freedom (Certificate of Freedom for Towerhill, 1809). 

Port Tobacco Courthouse and Jail (Charles County)

In July of 1845, 75 enslaved men embarked from Charles County on a journey to find freedom in Pennsylvania, led by Mark Caesar and Bill Wheeler, in a movement now known as the Port Tobacco Escape of 1845. While traversing southern Maryland into Montgomery County, this group was attacked by the “Montgomery Volunteers,” a group of men Sheriff Daniel Hayes Candler of Rockville called together to stop the men from Charles County. These freedom seekers resisted, and around 30 managed to evade capture—unfortunately, Mark Caesar and Bill Wheeler were not among them.  

Although Mark Caesar had been promised emancipation in 1844 by his enslaver, Port Tobacco planter John Barnes, he was tried as an enslaved man when arrested and faced conviction on “ten indictments for assisting ten slaves to runaway” in November 1845. Mark Caesar’s conviction resulted in consecutive sentences of five years each. He survived only five years in jail, where he died of consumption in November 1850 (Mark Caesar, 2011). 

After Bill Wheeler’s conviction for the uprising, he initially received a death sentence by hanging. However, a special act of the Legislature ensured that he would have life imprisonment should his sentence be commuted—which the Governor did eventually. He managed to escape from jail, once again seeking freedom. It is unclear whether he eventually achieved freedom (William “Bill” Wheeler, 2010). 

Both men faced trial at the Port Tobacco Courthouse and imprisonment at the Port Tobacco Jail, part of the Network to Freedom. Hear the full story of these two men and the Port Tobacco Escape from Charles County. 

Belair Mansion (Prince George’s County)

Samuel and Anne Tasker Ogle owned Belair Mansion (c. 1745), beginning over a century of Ogle and Taskers calling the site home. At any one time, the Ogles held at least 50 enslaved people at the property. In addition to inventories that list the names, ages, and occasionally occupations of those enslaved, we know of several who tried to seek freedom. 

Runaway ad for Dennis (Maryland State Archives)

The earliest known attempt was by a cook named Joe, who sailed on a boat to Philadelphia in 1744. A shoemaker named Tom escaped and may have found freedom in 1775 with the assistance of “some white people who make too familiar with [Ogle’s] slaves” (Explore Network to Freedom). In 1814, a different Tom left Belair with British soldiers—it is unclear whether he travelled with them or if he enlisted to gain freedom. The last known attempt occurred in 1852 by 27-year-old Dennis, although there is little information accompanying his runaway ad.

Riversdale House Museum (Prince George’s County)

Belgian immigrant Henri Stier built Riversdale, now a historic site owned by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) in 1801. His daughter, Rosalie Stier Calvert, took over ownership when the Stier family returned to Europe, and the Calvert family maintained ownership for many generations.

Emily Plummer

Adam Francis Plummer was one of the many people enslaved by the Calverts at Riversdale. He married Emily Saunders in 1841 at the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, DC, and they went on to have nine children together—despite the fact that they were enslaved at different plantations. In 1863, while enslaved at Woodlawn by the Thompson family, Emily decided to seek freedom in Baltimore with three of their older children and their twin toddlers, Nellie and Robert. The six freedom seekers did not make it to the city and were instead jailed. The Thompsons lacked the money to secure their release, and when Adam heard that his family was imprisoned in Baltimore, he received permission from Charles Benedict Calvert to retrieve them. Emily and the children arrived at Riversdale in December 1863.

The entire family was emancipated in 1864 at Riversdale, and the Network to Freedom now includes the site to commemorate Emily’s bravery. This is something that their daughter, Nellie, goes on to write about in her book, Out of the depths; or The triumph of the cross (1927):

No young woman of today can imagine the bravery that it took on mother’s part to venture to Baltimore alone, as it were, through troops of soldiers, during war time, with a girl of 11 years and a boy of 12, a girl 9 years, and two babies to be carried. Rut love knows no fear. We still think she was a heroine, indeed! (Plummer, 1927, p. 83)

Marietta House (Prince George’s County)

Marietta House, a tobacco plantation, was built by enslaved workers at the direction of US Supreme Court Justice Gabriel Duvall, who enslaved anywhere between nine and 50 individuals, including families of Ducketts, Butlers, Jacksons, and Browns. Freedom seekers born at Marietta, including Frank (last name unknown), Joe (last name unknown), and Benjamin Duckett, attempted to self-emancipate. These stories are what made  Marietta House – also a historic site operated by the M-NCPPC – a part of the Network to Freedom.

Little is known about Frank, except that he left in 1814. In a runaway ad published by Gabriel Duvall in May 1837, Joe is said to have had two brothers, Tom and Phil. By 1837, Tom lived as a freeman in Baltimore, and it is likely that Joe would have attempted to reach this location (Duvall, 1837).

Runaway ad for Benjamin Duckett, 1856 (MSA)

A few years later, in 1844, Gabriel Duvall passed away and his grandsons, Edmund and Marcus, divided Benjamin Duckett’s family and dispersed much of the enslaved population at Marietta. As a boy, Duckett would have observed many self-emancipation attempts by those in his community, including Joe.  Zachariah Berry purchased and enslaved Benjamin Duckett from Edmund Duvall sometime between 1849 and 1856. Although the exact property where Duckett lived is uncertain – Zachariah Berry had properties in Washington, DC, and Prince George’s County – we do know that Benjamin Duckett left from Prince George’s County in September 1856 (Berry, 1856). He arrived in Philadelphia three weeks later, though his route is unknown. He was given a small amount of money by the Philadelphia Vigilance Committee so that he could continue his journey northward (Benjamin Duckett, 2017). It does not appear that Duckett was ever forced to return to Zachariah Berry, as three years later, Berry was still advertising for Duckett’s return—his reward had gone from $50 to $500 (Berry, 1859).

Baltimore and Ohio (B&O) Museum (Baltimore City)

Resurrection of Henry “Box” Brown (Wikicommons)

Freedom seekers often utilized the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad to achieve self-emancipation. A train was a riskier choice as there was a higher chance of recapture due to its crowded, public nature; this is why more covert methods of travel were often preferred, despite being slower. Henry “Box” Brown and the Craft family journeyed through the Baltimore station (the current site of the B&O Railroad Museum). Perhaps the most famous among these individuals, Brown, arranged to be shipped to Philadelphia via the Adams Express Company (which was known for both efficiency and confidentiality—they never looked inside the boxes they carried) (Robbins, 2009, pp. 12–13). After purposely burning his hand with sulfuric acid to avoid work that day, Brown managed to fit into a roughly 3x3x2 foot box to pose as dry goods. His full journey encompassed 27 hours of multiple wagon journeys, railway trips, and steamboat and ferry sailings to reach his destination, including passage through Baltimore. How much does it cost to seek freedom? For Henry “Box” Brown, $86 (or $3,414 in 2023) (Morris, 2011, pp. 15–17). 

Mount Clare (Baltimore City)

Built over 250 years ago, Mount Clare was originally an 800-acre plantation on the Patapsco River and housed the Baltimore Iron Works (one of the largest industrial undertakings of the colonial period). Both were owned and operated by Charles Carroll. Between the Mount Clare plantation and the Baltimore Iron Works, Carroll enslaved over 200 people. The enslaved workers at the Baltimore Iron Works had a wide range of skilled knowledge, with occupations such as blacksmith and hammerman (Slavery and Freedom in Maryland, 2007).

Runaway ad for Eddenborough (MSA)

Situated only five miles from Baltimore, it is unsurprising that there were many attempts at freedom by the enslaved population throughout the 18^th century. In 1777, when the iron works facility suffered from food shortages, a manager at the Baltimore Iron Works wrote that the “people and stock were almost starving” (Industrial Slavery, 2007). That same year, Carroll placed a runaway ad for the cooper Eddenborough (Carroll, 1777). In it, Eddenborough is described as having an accent, so it is possible that he was born in Africa. Assuming he went to Baltimore, Eddenborough would have had many options with the city’s growing free Black population and Philadelphia only a 40-mile journey.

St. Stephen’s African Methodist Episcopal Cemetery (Talbot County)

Headstone of Matthew Roberts at St. Stephen’s

St. Stephen’s African Methodist Episcopal Cemetery in Talbot County serves as the final resting place for nearly 18 soldiers of the USCT, many of whom were originally enslaved at Wye Plantation. Their names are John Blackwell, Ennels Clayton, Isaac Copper, John Copper, Benjamin Demby, Charles Demby, William Doane, William Doran, Harace Gibson, Zachary Glasgow, Joseph Gooby, Joseph H. Johnson, Peter Johnson, Edward Jones, Enolds Money, Frederick Pipes, Henry Roberts, and Matthew Roberts.

Despite many objections by the Governor and other politicians, as well as slaveholding citizens, in 1863, the United States Colored Troops (USCT) began mass enlistments of Black men to fight for the Union. These men were often recruited directly from plantations in Maryland. One contemporary of Col. Edward Lloyd VI (owner of Wye Plantation during this period), wrote about the “boat loads” of enslaved men enlisting with USCT:

It appears that since we left the county [Talbot County] two week[s] ago, recruiting for the negro regiments have been going on with accelerated rapidity, and new vigor….I hear that Mr. Edward Lloyd, of Miles River neck, our largest slave holder, lost at One time as many as 84 able bodied hands and that enough have not been left to him “to black his boots…” (Wagandt, 1967, p. 135).

Before USCT conducted this mass recruitment at Wye Plantation, Matthew Roberts self-emancipated himself from Col. Edward Lloyd VI by using the local terrain to evade slave catchers. He then faked his own death and took a ferry to Baltimore, joining the 4^th USCT (Mathew Roberts, 2014). Roberts, along with the other soldiers, found their own way out of enslavement through escape and military service. After the end of the Civil War, Roberts and the other members of USCT built a Black community, Unionville, just a few miles from the site of their original enslavement (Messner, 2020). St. Stephen’s serves as a place of remembrance for these soldiers and their descendants.

Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum (Calvert County)

Enlistment papers for William Coates (Ancestry.com)

According to the 1850 census, George Peterson enslaved 16 people at what is today known as Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum (JPPM). During the height of the Civil War, both William Coates (aged 18) and William Jones (aged 19) enlisted at Camp Stanton for a three-year term with with Peterson’s permission: a signed statement by Peterson showed that they were enslaved at his farm on the Patuxent River. During this period, any enslavers were compensated for allowing men to join the USCT (for example, Peterson received $300 in place of the labor Coates would have provided).

A private all through his service, Coates was enlisted in Company I of the 7^th Regiment, while Jones rose to corporal in Company H of the 7^th Regiment. We know both men were mustered out in Texas in October 1866. Coates returned to Calvert County where, by 1880, he married a woman named Rebecca and lived near the Peterson farm. We do not know what became of William Jones (Samford, 2021).

While MHT does not have an easement with JPPM, it is a state-owned museum for history and archaeology. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places for its 9,000 years of documented human inhabitation and the cultural diversity of the sites at JPPM (Patterson Archeological and Historic District, 1982).

There is always more to learn and explore about the Underground Railroad and the Network to Freedom. Created by the Maryland State Archives, the Legacy to Slavery database has an extensive digital collection of runaway ads, slave schedules, manumissions, and more. Medusa, MHT’s online database of architectural and archaeological sites, is a great way to fully explore any Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties sites and National Register of Historic Places properties in Maryland. You can also read past MHT blog posts about the underground railroad here:

International Underground Railroad Month in Maryland, Part I: “I See the Underground Railroad Everywhere”

International Underground Railroad Month in Maryland, Part II: “A State Located at the Intersection of Slavery and Freedom”

References

B & O Transportation Museum & Mount Clare Station. (1961, September 15). National Register Properties in Maryland. LINK

Belair. (1977, September 17). National Register Properties in Maryland. LINK

Benjamin Duckett. (2017). Maryland State Archives. LINK

Berry, Z. (1856, October 8). Runaway Ad for Benjamin Duckett. Planter’s Advocate. LINK

Berry, Z. (1859, January 5). Runaway Ad for Benjamin Duckett. Planter’s Advocate. LINK

Carroll, C. (1777, August 19). Runaway Ad for Eddenborough. LINK

Certificate of Freedom for Towerhill (C290-1, Entry 51). (1809). LINK

Duvall, G. (1837, May 20). Runaway Ad for Joe. Daily National Intelligencer. LINK

Explore Network to Freedom. (2023). LINK

Holloway, J. E. (2005). Africanisms in American Culture, Second Edition. Indiana University Press.

Industrial Slavery—The Baltimore Iron Works. (2007). LINK

Marietta. (1994, July 25). National Register Properties in Maryland. LINK

Mark Caesar. (2011). Maryland State Archives. LINK

Mathew Roberts. (2014). Maryland State Archives. LINK

Messner, W. F. (2020). A Home of Their Own: African Americans and the Evolution of Unionville, Maryland. Maryland Historical Magazine, 115(2–3), 11–32.

Morris, R. V. (2011). Black Faces of War: A Legacy of Honor from the American Revolution to Today. Quarto Publishing Group USA.

Mount Clare. (1970, May 10). National Register Properties in Maryland. LINK

Our History—Sotterley. (2018, October 26). LINK

Patterson Archeological and Historic District. (1982, April 12). National Register Properties in Maryland. LINK

Plater, G. (1784, November 29). Runaway Ad for Clem Hill. Maryland Gazette. LINK

Plater, G. (1786, January 28). Runaway Ad for Towerhill. Maryland Journal and Baltimore Advertiser. LINK

Plummer, N. A. (1927). Out of the depths; or, The triumph of the cross. Hyattsville, Md. LINK

Riversdale. (1973, April 11). National Register Properties in Maryland. LINK

Robbins, H. (2009). Fugitive Mail: The Deliverance of Henry “Box” Brown and Antebellum Postal Politics. American Studies, 50(1), 5–25.

Samford, P. (2021, February 11). Camp Stanton and the U. S. Colored Troops. Maryland History by the Object. LINK

Slavery and Freedom in Maryland. (2007). Mount Clare. LINK

Sotterley. (2000, February 16). National Register Properties in Maryland. LINK

St. Stephens African Methodist Episcopal Church. (2004). LINK

Wagandt, C. L. (Ed.). (1967). The Civil War Journal of Dr. Samuel A. Harrison. Civil War History, 13(2), 131–146.

William “Bill” Wheeler. (2010). Maryland State Archives. LINK

Port Tobacco Historic District. (1989, August 4). National Register Properties in Maryland. LINK

Announcing FY2023 African American Historic Preservation Program Grant Recipients!

By Ivy Weeks, Capital Programs Administrator

We are pleased to announce this year’s African American Heritage Preservation Program (AAHPP) grant recipients! Jointly administered by The Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture and the Maryland Historical Trust, the AAHPP promotes the preservation of Maryland’s African American heritage by funding construction projects at significant sites throughout the state. This year’s projects include museums, cemeteries, an interpretive memorial, a historic lodge, community centers, and a historic school. Read more about our newly funded AAHPP grant projects below.

Mount Auburn Cemetery – Baltimore City ($100,000) | Sponsor: Mount Auburn Cemetery Company

Dedicated in 1872 and originally known as “The City of the Dead for Colored People,” Mount Auburn Cemetery was one of the first—and now only remaining—cemetery owned and operated by African Americans in Baltimore. It is a unique representation of the values and burial traditions of this community from the late 19th century to the present. Grant funds will support repairs to damaged decorative and security fencing, as well as resurfacing inner roadways.

Hoppy Adams House – Annapolis, Anne Arundel County ($100,000) | Sponsor: Charles W. “Hoppy” Adams Jr. Foundation, Inc.

Celebrated African American radio broadcaster for WANN Annapolis, Charles “Hoppy” Adams Jr was widely known for spreading soul and R&B music to Black and white audiences. Adams hosted popular concerts at Carr’s Beach, an important venue on the “Chitlin Circuit” during segregation. This project will rehabilitate the home Adams built for himself in 1964, which was left to the elements when he passed in 2005. Future phases of work will convert the space into a museum and event space to celebrate the life of Hoppy Adams and the unifying effect of R&B music during this divisive era.

Mt. Calvary United Methodist Church – Arnold, Anne Arundel County ($86,000) | Sponsor: Mount Calvary United Methodist Church

Mt. Calvary United Methodist Church began gathering on this site between 1832- 1842, making it the oldest African American congregation in Arnold. Grant funds will support the replacement of the 40-year-old roof and repairing the deteriorating handicap ramp that is currently causing moisture intrusion for the church, as well as adding a second ramp.

Eastport Elementary School, 3rd Street – Annapolis, Anne Arundel County ($100,000) | Sponsor: The Seafarers Yacht Club, Inc.

Originally built in 1918 as Eastport’s school for African American children, Eastport Elementary School closed when Anne Arundel School finally integrated, nearly a decade after Brown v Board of Education. Today, the building is owned by the Seafarers Yacht Club, Inc., formed in 1959 by a group of Black men with a shared interest in boating. They purchased the vacant building in 1967 after they were inspired to form their own club in response to marinas that routinely refused Black boaters to dock at their piers, as well as yacht clubs that denied membership to Black captains. This grant project will fund interior and exterior repairs and security improvements.

The club officers in dress whites, honoring a recently deceased member. Courtesy: Seafarers Yacht Club

Old Wallville School – Prince Frederick, Calvert County ($27,000) | Sponsor: Friends of the Old Wallville School, Inc.

A representation of the segregated educational facilities of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Old Wallville School is a one-room wooden schoolhouse that was used to educate African American students in the unincorporated village from 1880-1934. In 2006, the building was moved and placed adjacent to Calvert Elementary School. Now restored to its appearance in the early 1930s, it is used as a popular heritage tourism destination. This grant project will fund rot and roof repairs, structural signage replacement, and painting to protect the building from the elements and heavy use.

Parren J Mitchell House and Cultural Center – Baltimore City ($100,000) | Sponsor: Upton Planning Committee, Inc.

Originally built 1880, this rowhome is probably best known for its resident Parren Mitchell, the Black Congressmen to represent Maryland. This renovation project will return the long-vacant building to its historic role as a center of political and social life for the community and region as the new Parren Mitchell Center, which will serve as an events and retreat center. Grant funds will support exterior masonry restoration and repointing, window restoration, and accessibility improvements.

Boyds Negro School – Boyds, Montgomery County ($50,000) | Sponsor: Boyds Clarksburg Historical Society, Inc.

Built in 1895, Boyds Negro School is Montgomery County’s only remaining one-room schoolhouse for African American children that is regularly open to the public. This project will focus on engineering and site work to protect the building and grounds from flooding. It will also add a handicap ramp to make the building ADA accessible.

Richard Potter House – Denton, Caroline County ($50,000) | Sponsor: Fiber Arts Center of the Eastern Shore Inc.

Richard Potter published a book in 1866 – The Narrative of the Experience, Adventures and Escape of Richard Potter – documenting his experiences from when he was kidnapped in Greensboro, Maryland, enslaved in Delaware, and eventual escape and return to Caroline County to what is now known as the Richard Potter House (c.1810). The site is included as part of the National Park Service’s Network to Freedom. This project will restore the first floor of the home to its 1855 interior, using it as a museum and classroom space.

Mt. Zion Memorial Church– Princess Anne, Somerset County ($86,000) | Sponsor: Somerset County Historical Trust, Inc.

Mt. Zion Memorial Church survives as one of the few late-19th century African American churches in Somerset County and its intact condition enhances its architectural significance. Inside, one of the most distinctive features of the building — the early-20th century bead board ceiling – is at risk due to a leaking roof. While Mt. Zion is no longer used to hold regular church services, it does reflect the lasting influence of Methodism on the African American community in Somerset County. Grant funds will repair severe water damage.

New Bethel Methodist Episcopal Church – Berlin, Worcester County ($67,000) | Sponsor: New Bethel United Methodist Church, Inc.

Founded in 1855, New Bethel is the oldest African American Methodist congregation in Worcester County. Known as the Godfather of gospel music, Rev. Charles Albert Tindley was a member of the church in boyhood, and attended when he would visit from Philadelphia as an adult. The grant project will fund roof replacement and carpentry repairs.

Ridgley Methodist Church – Landover, Prince George’s County ($50,000) | Sponsor: Mildred Ridgley Gray Charitable Trust, Inc.

Built in 1921, the Ridgley Methodist Episcopal Church is in its original form and features memorial stained-glass windows with pointed frames. The building was relocated by the State Highway Commission in 1990. The cemetery, which dates to 1892, occupies the west end of the property. There are a number of unmarked graves, and about 20 gravestones dating from the 1910s to the 1940s. Most of the stones are hand-carved and many feature a carved flower and vine motif. The grant project will fund exterior repairs to the church and conservation of the cemetery.

Information in this section has been updated since publication.

St. James African Union First Colored Methodist Protestant Church – Towson, Baltimore County ($30,000) | Sponsor: St. James African Union Methodist Protestant Church, Inc

In 1881, the St. James African Union First Colored Methodist Protestant Church was built on property believed to be the first documented African American landholding in Towson. The church began as a one-story wood-frame building and was raised to two stories in 1906 to accommodate the congregation’s growth. This project will fund structural repairs to the roof framing and chimney, as well as full roof replacement.

Buffalo Soldier Park – Eden, Wicomico County ($74,000) | Sponsor: Greater Washington Dc Chapter Of The Ninth And Tenth (Horse) Cavalry Association, Inc.

Named “Buffalo Soldier House” for his time in the United States 9th Cavalry Regiment Company C, Thomas Polk, Sr. built a two-story home on his property sometime in the late 1920s and rebuilt it in 1962-63 after it was destroyed in a fire. This project will focus on the pre-development and renovations needed to convert his home into the Buffalo Soldier Living History Site, which will include a visitors’ center and exhibit space.

Adams Methodist Episcopal Church and Cemetery – Lothian, Anne Arundel County ($80,000) | Sponsor: Adams U.M. Church

Adams Methodist Episcopal Church site contains two church buildings: the original 1883 church, a simple weatherboard-sided late-Victorian structure; and a more modern brick church, completed in 1968. Work for this project will focus on the brick church and on the graveyard on site.

If you are planning to apply for funding for an AAHPP project, the FY2024  grant round will begin in the spring of 2023, with workshops in April and applications due July 1. For more information about AAHPP, please visit our website or contact Ivy Weeks, Capital Programs Administrator, at ivy.weeks@maryland.gov.

Ground Truth: Recent Investigations of Ground Penetrating Radar Anomalies by the MHT Archaeological Research Program

By Dr. Zachary Singer (MHT Research Archaeologist)

The theme for Maryland Archeology Month 2022 is “The Future of Studying the Past: Innovative Technologies in Maryland Archeology”. One suite of innovative technologies that is being highlighted is remote sensing: methods which allow archaeologists to detect cultural resources buried beneath the ground surface. Remote sensing technologies have transformed how archaeologists study the past. Today, with the aid of high precision GPS receivers and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) mapping software, the coordinates of potential archaeological resources can be precisely located via remote sensing, recorded and plotted in GIS, and then surgically examined through excavations pinpointed to their exact locations.

Over the years, the MHT Office of Archaeology had dabbled with these technologies, carrying out some limited survey with magnetic susceptibility technologies or partnering with others for such work. Beginning in 2019, MHT Chief Archaeologist, Matt McKnight, began a push to acquire additional equipment with which to undertake a more rigourous terrestrial remote sensing research program. The remote sensing technologies deployed by our office include a magnetic susceptibility meter (MagSusc), a fluxgate gradiometer, and a ground penetrating radar (GPR) system. We also utilize a high-precision GPS system capable of pinpointing a location on the Earth’s Surface accurate to within 7 millimeters (or about 1/4 inch).

MHT archaeologists have assisted with remote sensing surveys on archaeological sites throughout Maryland and identified many intriguing anomalies suggestive of archaeological features. However, as is always the case with remote sensing data, these potential features are just that: potential features. Without archaeological ground truthing through excavation it is not possible to conclude with absolute certainty what the various anomalies identified via remote sensing represent. Fortunately, our office has collaborated with many members of the Maryland archaeology community to ground truth (or physically excavate) some of the intriguing anomalies identified via our remote sensing surveys to determine their forms, functions, and ages. Below, we present a sampling of some of these exciting ground truthing results.

Barwick’s Ordinary (Caroline County)

MHT archaeologists carried out a geophysical remote sensing survey at the Barwick’s Ordinary Site on the Choptank River in Caroline County during the summers of 2019 and 2020 to examine a field where the owners of the property had encountered colonial artifacts during a prior landscaping project. The primary objectives of remote sensing at the site were to obtain detailed imaging of the subsurface features believed to be yielding the artifacts recovered on the property. Magnetic susceptibility, gradiometry, and GPR surveys on the property revealed several anomalies suggestive of buried architectural elements.

Annotated results of the MagSusc, Gradiometer, and GPR remote sensing surveys at Barwick’s
Ordinary.

In the fall of 2020, with assistance from ASM volunteers, locals, and Professor Julie Markin of Washington College, a few small test units were excavated to ground truth the anomalies at Barwick’s. The results confirm that the site contains well-preserved, artifact rich, mid-late 18th century archaeological features. Come participate in additional ground truthing excavations this summer at the Annual Tyler Bastian Field Session, which will take place at Barwick’s Ordinary from May 20-30, 2022.

Dr. Matt McKnight ground truthing a GPR anomaly, which was revealed to be the corner of a likely 18th-century privy at the Barwick’s Ordinary site.

Calverton (Calvert County)

In the summer of 2020, MHT archaeologists conducted a ground penetrating radar survey at the 17th-century Calverton Site in Calvert County in an area located within 10 meters of the eroding edge of Battle Creek. The creek is slowly destroying the site and the goal of the GPR survey was to identify anomalies in the portion of the site most at risk of loss from shoreline erosion. The GPR survey would later be investigated via ground truthing using traditional archaeological methods.

Annotated results of the GPR remote sensing survey at Calverton, highlighting the location of a shaft anomaly, which ground truthing determined to be a 17th-century
cellar (CLICK IMAGE TO EXPAND).

Seven likely anthropogenic features were identified in the GPR survey at Calverton. Eight test units were excavated by Applied Archaeology and History Associates during the summer of 2020 to assess these GPR anomalies. The excavations resulted in the identification of ten cultural features, which yielded late 17th- and early 18th-century artifacts including tobacco pipes, a Charles I sixpence coin (1639-1645), and sherds of tin-glazed earthenware. The largest and most artifact-dense feature related to the colonial occupation of Calverton was an in-filled cellar.

Photo of the 17th century cellar feature after it was bisected to ground truth the GPR
anomaly.

Maiden’s Choice (Washington County)

In the spring of 2021, MHT conducted a GPR survey at the Maiden’s Choice I site in Washington County to search for buried domestic structures. The GPR survey revealed the presence of an anomaly suggestive of a subsurface foundation remnant roughly 40 ft east-west by 20 ft north-south, and with an apparent chimney remnant (roughly 5 X 5 ft) near the center. In the fall of 2021, MHT collaborated with the Western Chapter of the Archeological Society of Maryland to excavate three test units to ground truth these GPR anomalies. The ground truthing excavations uncovered remnant rubble stone foundations with artifacts recovered from the plowzone dating primarily to the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

3D models of the excavation units that revealed the remains of a late 18th century
foundation.

Domestic artifacts were present such as furniture tacks, buttons, clay marbles, handwrought nails and coins including a 1776 Spanish half-reale, a pierced 1796 half dime, and a “draped bust” American half cent (1800-1808). A Napoleon Bonaparte First Consulate German jetton was also recovered. A jetton is a commemorative token or medal and this one likely dates to the years 1799-1804, before Napolean was coronated as Emperor. The fall 2021 excavations suggest that this site is a domestic site associated with the Barnes-Mason family that occupied the Maiden’s Choice property after 1773.

Fortunately, in the three examples discussed above, ground truthing of remote sensing anomalies resulted in the discovery of artifact rich archaeological features. However, this is not always the case. Remote sensing anomalies can also be caused by natural occurrences like bioturbation from plant roots and animal burrows. Accordingly, although it is tempting to jump straight from remote sensing results to archaeological site interpretation, the step of ground truthing cannot be skipped. Excavations will always be necessary to determine whether remote sensing anomalies are in fact the remains of
exciting archaeological features or less exciting gopher holes.

Erosion Threatens Cultural Resources at the 17th-century Calverton Site: Maryland’s Flood Awareness Month and Archeology Month Align

by Zachary Singer, MHT Research Archaeologist, and the Staff of Applied Archaeology and History Associates, Inc.

In addition to celebrating Maryland Archeology Month in April, Governor Larry Hogan proclaimed April 2021 as the first Maryland Flood Awareness Month. Although, April 2021 is the first official concurrent observance, 2017’s Archeology Month – At The Water’s Edge: Our Past on the Brink addressed the effects of flood hazards on archaeological sites. In the 2017 Archeology Month Booklet, Jason Tyler of Applied Archaeology and History Associates, Inc. (AAHA) contributed an essay entitled “A Return to Calverton, or What’s Left of It”. In the essay, Jason described the results of a 2015 survey to document archaeological resources along the banks of Battle Creek in Calvert County and highlighted the impacts of shoreline erosion on the late 17^th-century Calverton site (18CV22). Calverton was laid out in 1668 and served as the seat of government within Calvert County from 1668-1725. Jason concluded the chapter by advocating to protect the site from erosion and flood hazards and also to document the site through archaeology to learn about the threatened cultural resources at Calverton.

The Calverton Shoreline, 1682 vs. Today

Following Jason’s recommendation, the 2017 and 2018 Tyler Bastian Field Sessions with the Archeological Society of Maryland were held at the Calverton site to investigate the site before storm-surge flooding and the wind-driven waters of Battle Creek further eroded what evidence remained of the town. The field sessions focused on ground-truthing anomalies identified during a magnetic susceptibility survey by the MHT Office of Archaeology. The Field Session investigations identified a part of the Colonial town that had not entirely washed into Battle Creek, including intact sub-plowzone cultural horizons and features. In the summer of 2020, AAHA conducted supplemental archaeological investigations at Calverton to continue documenting those portions of the site at heightened risk from shoreline erosion and flooding caused by sea level rise. The 2020 work was supported by the Calvert County Government and a grant from the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority.

Magnetic Susceptibility Data Collected by the MHT Office of Archaeology

Prior to AAHA’s 2020 field investigations, the MHT Office of Archaeology conducted a ground penetrating radar (GPR) survey within 10 meters of the eroding bank overhanging Battle Creek to identify anomalies in the area of the site most at risk to further loss from wind and water action. The GPR essentially uses a 350MHz (megahertz) antenna to send radio pulses into the ground which bounce off of subsurface anomalies and return to the antenna. Through the use of special software, the data collected by the GPR operator can be used to create a detailed 3 dimensional model (called a 3D time slice) that reveals both the horizontal and vertical relationships amongst radar anomalies including potential cultural features (trash pits, cellars, privies), potential modern disturbances, and natural tree root systems.

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  Dr. Zac Singer Collecting GPR Data along Battle Creek

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  July 2020 MHT Ground Penetrating Radar Results

MHT archaeologists identified seven likely anthropogenic features via examination of the radar time slices. There were two large rectilinear anomalies in the eastern portion of the survey area. A deep, roughly circular anomaly near the center of the survey area was interpreted as a possible well. To the west of the possible well was an irregular anomaly that corresponded with a magnetic aberration identified during a 2019 gradiometer survey. To the east of the possible well was another amorphous anomaly. One trench-like linear anomaly was identified running roughly north-south in the western portion of the survey area. Additionally, one irregularly-shaped anomaly appeared in the southwest corner of the survey area and roughly corresponded to the location of a feature identified in 2017: a cluster of artifacts partly eroding from the bank of Battle Creek. In addition, the rectangular footprint of a test unit from previous excavations was identified, confirming the projection of these anomalies in real space. All seven potential cultural features were recommended for ground-truthing during AAHA’s 2020 archaeological fieldwork.

In total, AAHA excavated eight Test Units during the 2020 fieldwork to assess the form and function of the GPR anomalies. The excavations resulted in the identification of ten cultural features and the recovery of 3,369 artifacts mostly dating from the late 17^th and early 18^th century including tobacco pipes, a Charles I sixpence coin (1639-1645), and sherds of tin glazed earthenware. Of the ten features identified and excavated by AAHA in 2020, seven are related to the occupation of Calverton most likely from the late seventeenth century and the first quarter of the eighteenth century. The largest and most artifact-dense features related to the colonial occupation of Calverton were identified in the central portion of the study area and represent a posthole/mold (Feature 15/22), a small cellar (Feature 14 – the anomaly originally thought to be a possible well), and a possible trash pit (Features 16 and 17). Also identified was a small trench or ditch feature for what was probably once a paling fence in the western portion of the study area (Feature 19).

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  Tobacco Pipe Fragments

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  Charles I Sixpence Coin (Obverse Side)

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  Charles I Sixpence Coin (Reverse Side)

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  Tin-glazed Earthenware Sherds

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  Feature 14 – The Small Cellar

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  Feature 19 – Ditch from a Probable Paling Fence

The 2020 archaeological investigation at Calverton provided additional data crucial to understanding the colonial occupation of the town in the portions of the site most vulnerable to flooding and erosion. Most significantly, it identified a previously unknown cellar (Feature 14) and an associated post hole/mold (Feature 15/22) both of which likely reflect the location of a colonial structure. While the small window into this structure excavated to-date has allowed some preliminary conclusions to be drawn, additional excavations could further reveal the size, layout, and function of the former building. Additional excavation and GPR survey in the vicinity of the paling trench identified during the 2020 investigation (Feature 19) could also provide valuable data on lot divisions in Calverton and colonial towns as a whole.

Another important aspect of the 2020 project was to monitor the shoreline at Calverton to continue assessing the risk of the site to the destructive power of wind and water action along Battle Creek, which remains an imminent threat to the archaeological resources at the site. MHT map projections show that the town’s important public buildings, including the courthouse and chapel, have already been lost to Battle Creek. AAHA’s comparison of the 2020 location of the Battle Creek bank to the location recorded by a 2017 Calvert County LiDAR survey shows shoreline loss ranging from 0.0313 meters to 3.204 meters, with an average of 1.333 meters of loss over two years, or 60- 70 centimeters per year. Most alarmingly, seven of the 28 points taken for the analysis (25% of the total) show shoreline loss in excess of 2 meters and these points occurred over the entire length of the surveyed shoreline. At this rate, the late 17^th/early 18^th-century cellar feature (Feature 14) will be lost to erosion by 2028 without intervention. With climate change comes increasing numbers of catastrophic storms. Tidal surges during such storm events can wreak havoc on the shoreline, severely undercutting the bank at Calverton.

Map Depicting the Rate of Shoreline Loss at Calverton between 2017 and 2020

This reinforces the urgent need for additional archaeology at Calverton before the resource is entirely lost. Maryland Flood Awareness Month aligning with Maryland Archeology Month provides the perfect opportunity to discuss the impacts of flooding on archaeological resources. To learn more about planning efforts to protect archaeological sites from the impacts of flood hazards, please see the MHT’s guide for Planning for Maryland’s Flood-Prone Archeological Resources.

Gertrude Sawyer: Pioneer and Architect

By Annie Allen, Architectural Survey Data Specialist

This time last year, as a new employee of the Maryland Historical Trust, I attended my first annual all-staff meeting at the beautiful Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum (JPPM). The day included a fun “Mystery Heist” icebreaker, for which we all assumed the personalities of various characters who frequented the Patterson residence in the 1950s. When I was assigned my character – Gertrude Sawyer, the architect of the park’s Point Farm –  I was instantly intrigued. Gertrude Sawyer happens to be my mother’s name! To get into my role, I read a small synopsis about Gertrude and learned that she was from Tuscola, Illinois, two hours away from where my Sawyer ancestors hail. These coincidences spurred me to dig a little deeper to find out more about this woman. I was hoping to find a fun family connection to my assigned character. What I discovered is definitely worth sharing. 

Gertrude Sawyer ca.1957. Source: University of Illinois Archives

Gertrude graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1918 with a B.S. in landscape architecture. Wishing to be an architect from a young age, she attended Smith College’s Cambridge School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, where she earned a Master’s in Architecture in 1922. She then moved to Washington, D.C., to work as an associate for Horace W. Peaslee – however, not before building and selling her first residential home in Kansas City, Missouri. She received an early commission while working for Mr. Peaslee to design the Junior League of Washington’s Art Deco headquarters on Dupont Circle. In 1934, Gertrude opened her own firm and became an AIA member in 1939.  During World War II, Gertrude helped to design four thousand temporary homes for military families in D.C.  She earned the rank of Lieutenant Commander for the Navy’s Civil Engineer Corps (the Seabees). By the time of her retirement in 1969, Gertrude was registered to practice architecture in the District of Columbia, Ohio, Florida, Maryland, and Pennsylvania.

Junior League Building (now Kossuth House, Hungarian Reformed Federation). Source: Kossuth Foundation

Gertrude’s projects were predominantly residential, with a focus on country estates. In 1932, Jefferson Patterson, a foreign service diplomat, hired Gertrude to design Point Farm, his country residence in St. Leonard, Maryland, most of which is now JPPM. This project resulted in 26 building designs, ranging from an elegant Colonial Revival family home and guest houses to a show barn for cattle. The Patterson family considered Gertrude the family’s architect. Gertrude’s scrupulous eye for detail is not only evident in the exquisite classical architectural features of the Patterson home but also in her rigorous note-taking, sections, and plans. Her drawings can be found online at the Maryland State Archives, and many of her building designs can still be seen around Maryland and the Washington, D.C., area.

Point Farm, Jefferson Patterson Residence. Source: JPPM

As one of this area’s early woman architects, Gertrude Sawyer was definitely a groundbreaker in her field. However, rather than being recognized as a female architect, she preferred to be known as a good architect. In an interview with Gertrude, Matilda McQuaid revealed “that several women’s organizations had contacted her, knowing her to be one of the pioneer women architects. But when she told them, ‘I was always treated fairly, and throughout my career had a very good time building and designing,’ they never called back.” She once told the Sunday Star that “[p]eople who don’t want a woman architect just don’t come to you. But others see the advantage of your being able to interpret their individual needs because you are a woman.” Gertrude’s dedication to her profession and her pursuit of excellence forged a successful career with many long-standing clients like the Pattersons. 

Detail of the main stair in Jefferson Patterson Residence. Source: Maryland State Archives

Although I haven’t found that family connection yet, it was a pleasure ‘getting to know’ this accomplished architect and trailblazer. I’m still researching! 

Jefferson Patterson Farm. Source: Jillian Storms, Baltimore Architecture Foundation

For more information about Gertrude Sawyer’s buildings at Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum, visit https://jefpat.maryland.gov/Pages/default.aspx 

Sources:

Allaback, Sarah. The First American Women Architects. University of Illinois Press, 2008.

American Institute of Architects. Application For Membership. June 1939. Gertrude Sawyer’s AIA Application. 1735 New York Ave. NW, Washington, DC.

Berkeley, Ellen Perry., and Matilda McQuaid. Architecture: A Place for Women. Washington: Smithsonian Institution, 1989. 

Dean, Ruth. “For The Seabees: Woman Architect Came to Their Aid.” The Sunday Star [Washington. DC] 25 Mar. 1956, D-10 sec.: n.

“Early Women of Architecture in Maryland.” http://www.aiawam.com/.