Marietta House Museum 5626 Bell Station, 20769 301-464-5291 The lure of Washington, D.C., with its signifi cant free black population and ample hiding places tempted nearby enslaved people to escape. Between 1814 and 1859, three slaves fl ed Marietta House, the plantation home of Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Gabriel Duvall. Judge Duvall wrote the Supreme Court opinion that slaves could testify in court. pgparks.com/3072/Mar-ietta-House-Museum “ I think I’m the fi rst man to sit on top of the world. —Matthew Henson ” MATTHEW HENSON (1866–1955) , recognized on a plaque at the Maryland State House as “co-discoverer of the North Pole,” was born in the Southern Maryland town of Nanjemoy. Orphaned when not yet a teen, Matthew Henson worked on merchant ships as a cabin boy and learned to read and write while sailing around the world. As part of an Arctic expedition in 1909, he reached the North Pole about 45 minutes ahead of his colleague, Admiral Robert E. Peary. Landover PRG F-16 The Wayne K. Curry Sports and Learning Complex 8001 Sheri Rd, 20785 301-583-2300 Named after Prince George’s County’s fi rst African-American County Executive, the complex is dedicated to improving the community’s fi tness and educational needs. pgsportsandlearn.com Laurel St. Mark’s Methodist Episcopal Church 601 8th St, 20707 301-776-8885 PRG E-16 Largo PRG G-16 Elizabeth Keckly Burial Site National Harmony Memorial Park, 7101 Sheri Rd, 20792 • 301-772-0900 Mrs. Keckly, best known as Mary Todd Lincoln’s seamstress, worked on behalf of the newly emancipated enslaved people that sought refuge in the nation’s capital. She devoted herself to raising funds and collecting donations for their benefi t. She organized the Contraband Relief Association at Union Bethel AME Church in 1862 and served as the organization’s fi rst president. This organization helped expose the need for government involvement in caring for the contrabands, as the emancipated enslaved people were also known. nationalharmony.com Since 1921, the church has been a landmark 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 church 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. umc.org/fi nd-a-church/ church/79814 motivations for escaping from slavery, particularly the fear of being sold away from one’s family and loved ones. Several of the escapes were triggered by the slave owner’s sale of other family members. The site is a private residence on Glissans Mill Road near Linganore. It is not open to the public. Mitchellville PRG G-17 Holy Family Roman Catholic Church 12010 Woodmore Rd, 20721 301-249-2266 Built in 1890 to serve the local black Catholic community of then-rural Woodmore and Mitchellville. In 1889, the land for the church was deeded to the congregation by Isaac Wood, a local white carpenter. Parishioners, mostly African-American tenant farmers, built the structure. Today, the parish remains active serving the community. holyfamilywoodmore.org Linganore FRE B-14 Thornton Poole House 13025 Glissans Mill Rd, 21771 Twelve members of the enslaved Aldridge family escaped from here at various times in the 1850s. William Still, the famous abolitionist and Underground Railroad conductor, recorded their story in 1857. The Aldridge family’s story expresses the Maryland’s Underground Railroad & African-American Heritage Travel Guide 15
African American Heritage Guide 2022 African American Heritage Guide: Page 15
