Maryland: Snapshots in Stone

By Renée Gordon History & Travel Writer

George Calvert, 1st Baron of Baltimore, prevailed upon Charles 1 of England for a royal land grant in the New World. He died before it was granted and it was given to his son, Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore, in June of 1632. The Colony of Maryland was named in honor of Charles’ wife, Queen Henrietta Maria, when the first colonizers arrived on the western shore at St. Clement’s Island in 1633. The two ships, The Ark and the Dove, carried approximately 200 indentures and 30 colonists who were religious refugees. The group purchased land from the local Yaocomico Indians and established St. Maries, later known as St. Mary’s. St. Mary’s was the capital until 1695 when it was replaced by the Puritans who founded Annapolis. #visitmaryland

The boundary line between Maryland and Pennsylvania was problematic and in 1750 two surveyors, Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon, were hired to establish an immutable boundary. The resulting Mason-Dixon Line would subsequently become a divisionary line in the 1820 Missouri Compromise between free and slave states. Maryland, as a border state, has always been recognized for its mixture of traits from both the North and the South.

The first documented blacks to arrive in Maryland were brought in to work on a plantation in 1634. It is believed the first black slaves were imported from Virginia with a small group arriving from Africa. Accurate numbers cannot be established because Indians, blacks and mulattoes were not listed statistically. Slavery evolved from indentured servitude and in 1639 all rights were taken from black servants. Thirty years later slavery was legalized in the colony and by 1860 the enslaved population numbered 87,000 with an additional 84,000 free blacks.

Maryland, as one of the thirteen original colonies, impacted on every major event In the nation’s founding. Because of its location it has always been strategically important. It is a gateway to the North and the South and was often used as a passageway by freedom seekers. Its overwhelming number of estuaries, rivers, inlets and the Chesapeake Bay and tributaries gives rise to one of the longest waterfronts in the country and an abundance of seafood. The area remains of such importance that President Obama enacted legislation in 2009 “to restore and protect the nation’s largest estuary and its watershed.”

Maryland boasts metropolitan centers adjacent to rural agricultural areas and along with its protected areas it does an exceptional job of preserving historic sites. History comes alive with immersive activities, tours, films and artifacts. The places you can visit date from as early as the 1600s, many are one-of-a-kind and many relate their unique stories in the very stones of the structures.

George Washington trained his troops for the French and Indian War in Maryland in 1755. His militia was plagued with a lack of clothing, rations and arms. Two-acre Fort Frederick was constructed in 1756 with walls 3-feet thick, 20feet high and it is the sole stone fort erected by a British colony during the French and Indian War and the only one displaying its original walls and two restored barracks. During the American Revolution it housed British POWs and during the Civil War soldiers were posted nearby.

In 1857 the Nathan Woods Family bought the property. The family was enslaved until 1826 when Samuel, Nathan’s father, purchased their freedom. Nathan purchased the freedom of his wife in 1847 and ten-years later became the owner of 215-acres and Fort Frederick for $5,000. Nathan and his wife deeded land for the construction of a school in the 1870s. The Fort Frederick School for Coloreds was a single classroom. The family owned the property until 1911. Information on the Williams family is displayed in the barracks and an African American school is on the park grounds. www.marylandmemories.org/fortfrederick

The 700-acre Ferry Hill Plantation was built by Colonel John Blackford in 1812 and was a complex with a brick home, tavern, ferry and 18 enslaved workers. The family was under house arrest for the duration of the Civil War. Blackford made daily entries in a daybook. It offers insight into the tasks of the enslaved at Ferry Hill.

Tolson’s Chapel in Sharpsburg was erected by African Americans in 1866. The log church served as an American Union School supported by the Freedman’s Bureau and the African American Community. It has been lovingly restored as has the adjacent Fairview Cemetery. The home is closed but visitors can walk the grounds https://tolsonschapel.org

Rockland Farm provides exterior view only 3-story mansion seen from the road. The importance of the site lies in the enslaved workers who were held there. James Pennington escaped in 1827 and went on to become a renowned abolitionist. After attending Yale Divinity School for four-years he received an honorary doctorate from Germany’s University of Heidelberg and became a Presbyterian minister. He performed the wedding ceremony of Frederick Douglass. His writings are available online.

St. Mark’s Episcopal Church was constructed in 1849. The church is a historical jewel exhibiting its original slave balcony and an impressive stained-glass window dedicated in 2018 to the enslaved who attended the church. The church cemetery features gravesites of the enslaved. Call in advance for tours of the interior.

Catoctin Furnace’s Museum of the Iron Worker relates a unique story in stone. The iron furnace functioned from 17761903. The workforce originally consisted of enslaved workers, many with ironmaking skills brought from Africa, and later immigrants. The museum, in a 200-year-old house, displays two forensic facial reconstructions of enslaved laborers, as well as other items found during site reconstruction. Visitors also view other furnace buildings.

Hagerstown’s African American Trail highlights Jonathan Street. It is said to have been a road taken that lead straight to freedom. Markers indicate where the Old Courthouse stood and slave auctions were held on the steps. The Harmon Hotel was built in the early 1900s and was the only accommodation available to African Americans in town. Willie Mays arrived in town to play a game. He was denied a room in the white hotel with his team mates and was vilely harassed. Three of his white team mates slept on the floor of his room, because of his treatment. He stayed in the black-owned Harmon Hotel, for his protection. On July 17, 2006 Hagerstown honored him and his bravery. #Visithagerstown

Stone Mountain Monument was built in 1827 as the first monument to honor George Washington. It sits astride the Appalachian Trail, the longest hiking trail in the world, and is 34-ft. tall. The views are awesome.

George Alfred Townsend was a novelist and the youngest correspondent during the Civil War. He purchased a 100-acres for a summer estate in 1884 and built the (National)War Correspondents Memorial Arch in what is now Gathland State Park in 1896. The arch was to honor all of his friends in conflict zones. It was nationalized and now honors all correspondents killed in war. #washingtoncountym See and experience Maryland’s monuments in stone. #visitmaryland