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Life, Labor and Liberty: The African American Experience in Frederick County


Three Days and Two Nights

Become aquainted with over two centuries of African American heritage in Frederick County.

Day 1

Monocacy National Battlefield, Catoctin Furnace and Brunswick Railroad Museum

The day begins at the Monocacy National Battlefield where we'll learn the story of the Vincendiere family and the enslaved community that labored at L'Hermitage plantation (now referred to as the Best Farm). A census in 1800 recorded 90 slaves in residence on this 700 acre farm. The slaves and farm were owned, at the time, by the family’s 19-year old daughter and youngest recorded landowner in Frederick County.

Evidence suggests that the Vincendiere family attempted to set up an agricultural operation similar to that used on the family plantation in San Domingue (Haiti). In Frederick County, where most farms did not use slave labor, their particularly harsh approach shocked the neighbors and led to some interesting arguments in the newspapers and in the courts.

Monocacy National Battlefield archeologists are currently excavating the largest known slave habitation site in the Mid-Atlantic region.

More common in Frederick County during the period of American Revolution was industrial slavery. The Catoctin Furnace, our next stop, was a locale where West Africans, both free and enslaved, literally labored for liberty by forging an array of ironworks. Catoctin Furnace is designated as an official site on the Underground Railroad Network to Freedom.

After lunch, head south for the Brunswick Railroad Museum/C&O Canal Visitor Center where interactive exhibits and a guided tour bring to life the labors of African Americans who built and worked on the B&O Railroad and C&O Canal throughout the nineteenth century. Particular emphasis is given to Brunswick's boomtown experience at the turn of the century. A living history presentation will introduce you to one of the local African American women associated with railroad life.

Perhaps opt to attend an evening game of the Frederick Keys, Frederick’s hometown team located at the beautiful Harry Grove Stadium in Frederick.

Day 2

Historic Frederick walking tour, National Museum of Civil War Medicine, Roger Brooke Taney

The day begins with a walking tour of All Saints Street, a center of African American commerce, religious life and entertainment in the early 1900s. This thoroughfare appears much as it did when services from banking and medical care to home-based grocery stores, beauty parlors and restaurants fanned out onto the sidewalks.

The walking tour concludes at the Community Bridge, where you may take some time to explore the imagery contained in this impressive work of art. New to Frederick's cultural scene, this enormous tromp l'oeil mural features symbols representing the "spirit of community," many of which derive from African or African American sources.

At the National Museum of Civil War Medicine immersion exhibits include medical evacuation, a field dressing station and a field hospital, as well as other displays illustrating the important role of medical intervention in the Civil War. The rise of black doctors and nurses to the challenge is examined, and camp life for black soldiers is shown. Stories of compassion and courage at this museum are compelling.

After a break for lunch, the next stop is a tour of the Roger Brooke Taney House. A Frederick lawyer at the time, Taney owned this building between 1815 and 1823. The structure is a rare survival in that it is a modest town dwelling with intact dependencies, including slave quarters. The site offers a window into the lives of both free and enslaved African-Americans as well as slaveholding and non-slaveholding whites.

This evening, enjoy dinner at Brewer’s Alley Restaurant, located in the heart of Frederick's historic district.  Enjoy a delicious meal and if you choose, a tasting of the many varieties of beer made on premise.

Day 3

Historical Society of Frederick County and Harpers Ferry

Start the day at the Historical Society of Frederick County. Special focus will be given to artifacts and stories related to the African American experience in Frederick County, for example, the well-known portrait of Francis Scott Key, painted by local African American artist William Grinage.

In the afternoon, we'll head west to explore Harpers Ferry and learn about Storer College, a historically black school that is now a training facility for the Park Service. Frederick Douglass served as a trustee of Storer College, and delivered a memorable oration on the subject of John Brown here in 1881. Storer is also famous as a conference site for the Niagara Movement, a forerunner of the NAACP, created by Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois to combat racial injustices.

 

Please contact the following for tours, prices and operating hours:

For further information, please contact:

Becky Bickerton, Sales Manager, (800) 999-3613 or 301-600-4050 or e-mail at bbickerton@fredco-md.net