African American History Tour For more than 300 years, African Americans have raised families and built communities that have been vital to the growth and development of Prince George's County and its history. They have established neighborhoods and built physical structures, many of which survive in the midst of the county's ever-changing landscape. You are invited to take a visual journey to African American historic sites and buildings that offer guided or self-guided tours. Some sites are owned and operated by M-NCPPC, while others belong to other public and private owners. Sites on the tour range from a benevolent hall to churches, from an airfield to a ball field, and from historic mansions to a log cabin. They provide tangible evidence of the importance African Americans placed on family, religion, education, neighborhoods and community. Use the information here to design a comfortably paced tour and develop a deeper appreciation for African American buildings, places and neighborhoods that have shaped the county. To learn more about African American sites and communities in Prince George's County, contact the M-NCPPC Department of Parks and Recreation's Black History Program at 240-264-3415, TTY 301-699-2544. African American Heritage Sites
African American History Resources
St. Mark's Methodist Episcopal Church 601 8th Street, Laurel, MD 20707 301-776-8885 Since 1921, St. Mark's Methodist Episcopal church has served as a landmark within the city of Laurel. The history of the congregation dates back to 1891 when James Hebron and two other black Methodists purchased the land for the church. The frame of the church (Hebron Hall) sat across the street from the Laurel Colored School, which was constructed in 1884. Together the two buildings served many of the residents in Laurel's black community. A new building was constructed in 1921, and Hebron Hall was moved and converted into a social hall. The church was further expanded during the 1940s. St. Mark's has served an active congregation since its founding and represents the religious center of a long-standing black community. Queen's Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church Site and Cemetery 7410 Old Muirkirk Road, Rossville, MD 20705 301-937-7122 This is the site of the original Queen's Chapel, built in 1868. The original church was a small log chapel, and included a cemetery that was already being used by African Americans in the Muirkirk area. The original chapel has been replaced twice, most recently by a brick church that stands on the opposite side of the road. The construction of another chapel on an adjacent lot is currently planned. The site of the original chapel is now the cemetery of Queen's Chapel United Methodist Church. The oldest inscribed gravestone dates back to 1886. Abraham Hall 7612 Old Muirkirk Road, Beltsville, MD 20705 301-454-1780; tours by appointment Built in 1889 for the Benevolent Sons and Daughters of Abraham, Abraham Hall is Prince George's County's most outstanding example of a late 19th century African American benevolent society lodge. This two-story, front-gabled lodge building has its entrance through paneled doubled doors, and a small kitchen wing. Over the years it has also served the African American community of Rossville as a temporary schoolhouse and Methodist church. Abraham Hall is owned and operated by M-NCPPC and is home to Black History Program staff. The site hosts exhibitions and is available for use by community groups. Riversdale House Museum 4811 Riverdale Road, Riverdale Park, MD 20737 301-864-0420; TTY 301-699-2544 Visitor Center: Mondays-Fridays, 9 am-5 pm, Sundays, 12 noon-4 pm House Museum and Dependency: Fridays and Sundays, 12 noon-3:30 pm Riversdale, a National Historic Landmark, was the home of George Calvert, grandson of the fifth Lord Baltimore and his wife Rosalie Stier. In the first half of the 19th century, the house was the center of a large estate where 32 to 52 enslaved African Americans labored over the years. The surviving outbuilding, or dependency, next to the main house likely served several functions over time, and today features an open hearth where cooking demonstrations provide a glimpse into 19th century working life. It also houses an exhibit about the family of Adam Francis Plummer, who was born into slavery in 1819 and came to Riversdale in 1829. He began recording his experiences in 1841 in a diary that provides a rare personal account of life as a slave on a Prince George's County plantation. A permanent exhibit in the Visitor Center showcases the life and experiences of Adam Francis Plummer and his family at Riversdale and their role in the surrounding community after emancipation. Cherry Hill Cemetery 6821 Ingraham Street, Riverdale, MD 20737 301-627-1286; TTY 301-699-2544 Self-guided tours and interpretive signage; open daily sunrise to sunset Cherry Hill Cemetery is a late 1800s African American family burial ground. Established in 1884 on the farm of Josiah Adams, it is significant as the only intact African American family farm cemetery in the Bladensburg-Riverdale-Hyattsville area. Graves are marked with slabs of local ironstone and yucca plants. Many African American families, such as the Adams, Becketts and Plummers, buried their loved ones at Cherry Hill from the late 1880s through the 1940s. Dorsey Chapel 10704 Brookland Road, Glenn Dale, MD 20769 301-464-5291; TTY 301-699-2544 Weekday tours by appointment Dorsey Chapel is a small, frame, meetinghouse-style church that was the focal point of the rural African American community of Brookland at the turn of the 20th century. The chapel was dedicated in September 1900 and used until 1971, when it was combined with Perkins chapel to form the Glenn Dale United Methodist Church. It has been restored by M-NCPPC and is available for tours and rentals. Blacksox Park 2200 Mitchellville Road, Bowie, MD 20716 301-262-6200 Park hours: April 1-November 30, 9 am to dark; Self-guided tours and interpretive signage Blacksox Park is a 70-acre park with interpretive signage primarily designed for baseball and softball. The park has five fields, and was once home to the Mitchellville Tigers and the Washington Blacksox, two local African American sandlot baseball teams. Sandlot baseball flourished in the county from the 1930s to the 1970s. The lot was a popular game site for several other African American sandlot teams such as the Brentwood Flashes, Brandywine A.C.s, Laurel All-Stars, Glenarden Braves and the Oxon Hill Aztecs. The Homestead Grays, a professional Negro League team, played the Washington Blacksox at the field. The field was officially dedicated and named for the Blacksox sandlot team in 1996. Belair Mansion 12207 Tulip Grove Drive, Bowie, MD 20715 301-809-3089 Tours: Wednesdays -Sundays, 12 noon-4 pm, groups of 10 or more by appointment Belair Mansion was built ca. 1747 and served as the home of Provincial Governor Samuel Ogle. Ogle's Georgian mansion was the focal point of a large plantation, which, like most Chesapeake plantations, depended on the labor of enslaved Africans. The mansion's interpretive effort offers a contrast between the lives of the gentry and the slave population. An exhibit in the Belair Stables highlights the significant role of 19th and early 20th century African American jockeys. Prince George's Sports & Learning Complex 8001 Sheriff Road, Landover, MD 20785 301-583-2300; TTY 301-583-2483 Hours: Mondays-Fridays, 6 am-10 pm, Saturdays, 8 am-8 pm, and Sundays, 10 am-6 pm Named after the first African American County Executive in Prince George¿s County, the Wayne K. Curry Sports & Learning Center is located on the grounds of M-NCPPC's Prince George's Sports & Learning Complex. The indoor sports complex is dedicated to improving the community's fitness and educational needs, and is located in the largely African American neighborhood of Landover. The facility houses M-NCPPC's Black History Month exhibit several months of each year. Call for exhibit hours and availability. Ridgely Methodist Episcopal Church and Cemetery 8900 Central Avenue, Landover, MD 20743 301-925-7599 Ridgely Church is a one-story, front gabled structure with pointed-arch windows with commemorative stained glass. It is bordered by a small graveyard with handsome primitively carved stones. The present building was constructed in 1921 to replace the original church founded by Lewis Ridgely in 1871 that was destroyed by fire. Lewis Ridgely was one of three original church trustees. Succeeding generations of Ridgelys remained active in the church and community. In order to accommodate the widening of Central Avenue in the late 1980s, the church was moved a short distance north, renovated and stabilized. Northampton Slave Quarters and Archaeological Park 10915 Water Port Court, Lake Arbor, MD 20721 301-627-1286; TTY 301-699-2544 Self-guided tours and interpretive signage open daily sunrise to sunset This historic site features reconstructed foundations of two slave quarters from the former Northampton Plantation (1673-1860). With the help of descendents, M-NCPPC archaeological excavations have recovered artifacts and information about the lives of African American slaves and tenant farmers who lived there from the late 18th through the mid-20th century. Interpretive signage describes the site's history and ongoing research. Holy Family Roman Catholic Church 12010 Woodmore Road, Mitchellville, MD 20721 301-249-2266 Holy Family Church was built to serve the local black Catholic community of then-rural Woodmore and Mitchellville. It is a fine example if late Victorian ecclesiastical architecture with Gothic and stick-style decorative elements. Built in 1890, Holy Family is a front gabled frame church with long, steeply pitched gable roof, Gothic arch windows and prominent belfry. In 1889, the land for the church was deeded to the congregation by Isaac Wood, a local white carpenter. Parishioners, mostly black tenant farmers, built the structure. The church now serves a congregation of both black and white families. Saint Paul's Methodist Episcopal Church 6634 St. Barnabas Road, Oxon Hill, MD 20745 301-567-4433 St. Paul's is thought to be the oldest black congregation in Prince George's County. The original church (a Methodist meetinghouse) was constructed in 1888. In 1915, the present sanctuary, a small front gabled building with pointed arch windows and a three-story corner tower, was built. The original church was destroyed in the 1920s and replaced by a series of church additions. The church¿s congregation preceded the 1888 construction of its physical structure. Traveling clerics in the late 18th century preached to a group of freed blacks in Oxon Hill who had built their own meetinghouse. This group is believed to have a connection to the African American Methodist congregation that in 1867 acquired the land on which St. Paul's was built. Poplar Hill on His Lordship's Kindness 7606 Woodyard Road, Clinton, MD 20735 301-865-0358 Tours: March through the second week in December: Thursdays and Fridays, 10 am-4 pm, and Sundays, 12 noon-4 pm, Poplar Hill on His Lordship's Kindness is a National Historic Landmark site that was originally part of a 7,000-acre land grant from Charles Calvert, the third Lord Baltimore, to Colonel Henry Darnall in 1703. the current mansion was built between 1785 and 1787 by the Colonel's great grandson, Robert Darnall, and replaced an earlier residence constructed for his father, Henry Darnall III. A significant part of the site's interpretive efforts focuses on the history of the enslaved African Americans and their families that remained in the area after emancipation. Mount Calvert Historical and Archaeological Park 16801 Mount Calvert Road, Upper Marlboro, MD 20772 301-627-1286; TTY 301-699-2544 Park grounds open 8 am-sunset daily Exhibit hours: April-October: Saturdays, 10 am-4 pm; Sundays, 12 noon-4 pm; weekday group tours by appointment The Mount Calvert Historical and Archaeological Park interprets a broad range of Prince George¿s county history. An exhibit, A Confluence of Three Cultures, interprets the archaeology and history of American Indians, the colonial town of Charles Town, Prince George's County's first seat of government, and the lives of enslaved African Americans. By the mid-1800s, 51 enslaved African Americans lived and worked at Mount Calvert Plantation. Exhibit panels, interpretive signs and public archaeology tours interpret African American heritage at Mount Calvert. Charles Duckett Log Cabin at the Patuxent Rural Life Museums 16000 Croom Airport Road, Upper Marlboro, MD 20772 301-699-627-6074; TTY 301-699-2544 Park is open 8 am -5 pm daily Visitor Center hours: 8 am-4 pm; Cabin is open for tours April-October on a walk-in basis on Saturdays and Sundays from 1-4 pm. The Duckett Cabin is a rare chestnut log tenant farm house from the 1880s. It was probably built by Charles Duckett, a former slave and landsman in the Union Navy during the Civil War. The Duckett Cabin is part of the larger Patuxent Rural Life Museums complex, which includes the Duvall Tool Museum, a tobacco museum, a blacksmith shop, and a 1923 Sears, Roebuck and Company Simplex house. Columbia Air Center 16000 Croom Airport Road, Upper Marlboro, MD 20772 301-627-6074; TTY 301-699-2544 Open dawn to dusk daily with self-guided tours and interpretive signage In 1941, aviation history was made when the first black-owned and operated airfield in the state of Maryland was licensed on the site at the end of Croom Airport Road. John W. Greene Jr., a pioneer in black aviation, was instrumental in developing the airfield, which was originally called Riverside Field. It was occupied by the U.S. Navy during World War II and used for training missions. After the war, Greene reopened the airfield as Columbia Air Center. It offered a flying school, charter services, and facilities for major and minor repairs. The first black Civil Air Patrol squadron in the Washington, D.C., area, called the Columbia Squadron, was formed here. The site is located within M-NCPPC's Patuxent River Park. Need a Ride? |
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