The Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture and the Maryland Historical Trust have awarded 31 African American Heritage Preservation Program grants totaling $5,000,000 to numerous Maryland organizations for FY 2026. These grants offer assistance to organizations and private citizens in their sponsorship of projects involving acquisition, construction, or improvement of sites related to African American heritage. This year’s grant awards range from $10,000 to $250,000. The awardees are listed below, in alphabetical order by county.
Alexandria (Alexander) Chapel United Methodist Church Cemetery ($108,000) – Chicamuxen, Charles County | Sponsor: Alexandria United Methodist Church
Jordan’s Chapel, possibly the first black church in Charles County, was established by members of the formerly enslaved Jordan family, on land they had acquired after Emancipation. At the turn of the 20th century, the present Alexandria Chapel was erected on the Jordan Chapel site, but the structure was subsequently relocated to a nearby location on Chicamuxen Road. The cemetery and former site of the chapels are located on Cemetery Road and consist of approximately one cleared acre surrounded by woodland. Funding will support the rehabilitation of the church and cemetery conservation, including interpretive signage and benches.
American Legion Mannie Scott Post 193 ($250,000) – Denton, Caroline County | Sponsor: American Legion Dept Maryland Mannie Scott Post 193
The American Legion Manny Scott Post No. 193 is Caroline County’s only African American-serving post dedicated to those who have served in active military duty in all branches of America’s Armed Forces. Post No. 193 practices resistance by improving their communities through promoting justice, freedom, and democracy. Although currently displaced, Mannie Scott Post No. 193 members continue to host African American-centered community events throughout Caroline County, including Juneteenth celebrations, parades to honor community veterans, community block parties, community cookouts, and fundraising events to assist in the building’s renovation. Funding will address securing engineering and design plans, obtaining permits, and beginning site work.
Anna Murray Douglass Heritage & Visitor Center ($250,000) – Denton, Caroline County | Sponsor: Bailey-Groce Family Foundation
The Anna Murray Douglass Heritage & Visitor Center is a two-story, ca. 1900, cross-gabled residence. The house is adjacent to the former location of the Quaker Neck Meeting House and Yard, which was demolished within the last several decades. Once complete, the building would be transformed into a cultural and educational facility focused on the life of Anna Murray Douglass, wife of Frederick Douglass and a prominent abolitionist. Funding will support acquisition, as well as the interior and exterior rehabilitation of the structure.
Ash Memorial Cemetery ($132,000) – Sandy Spring, Montgomery County | Sponsor: Beautification Club of Sandy Spring
Founded in the 1890s, Ash Memorial Cemetery serves as the last active cemetery for the historic Sharp Steet United Methodist Church, which was first constructed in the 1820s. The church was a prominent touchstone for a freedman’s settlement (M: 28-10, Brooke Road Historic District) of formerly enslaved individuals that were emancipated by the Sandy Spring Quakers as early as the Revolutionary War. The settlement was one of the earliest and largest such communities in Maryland. Many of the current residents are descendants of the original freedmen who settled in the area in the 18th and 19th centuries. Funding will support cemetery conservation, paving, signage and fencing.
Brewer Hill Cemetery ($250,000) – Annapolis, Anne Arundel County | Sponsor: Brewer Hill Cemetery Association Inc.
Brewer Hill Cemetery is the city of Annapolis’ oldest Black graveyard. Judge Nicholas Brewer originally owned the cemetery and used it to bury those he enslaved, his servants, and employees of the Black community. Among the interred are significant stories of the enslaved, such as Mary Naylor, who maintained her innocence until her hanging in 1861 for allegedly poisoning her master. This project aims to preserve the cemetery and become a place of heritage tourism in Annapolis. Funding will support repairs to gravestones and the brick wall, and replacement of the steel fence.
Catoctin Furnace African American Cemetery ($73,000) – Thurmont, Frederick County | Sponsor: Catoctin Furnace Friends Group
The Catoctin Furnace African American Cemetery, located in the Catoctin Furnace Historic District, is significant to American industrial history and the role African Americans played in the iron industry. A joint DNA research project between Harvard University, 23andMe, and the Smithsonian Institute has identified more than 40,000 descendants of African American enslaved ironworkers at Catoctin Furnace. Currently, access to the cemetery is not possible. The interpretation of the cemetery will potentially be added to other tour trails in the district. Funding will support cemetery conservation.
Chew’s Memorial Church and Cemetery ($135,000) – Harwood, Anne Arundel County | Sponsor: Chews Memorial United Methodist Church
Chew’s Memorial Church, originally named “Chews Chapel,” was founded in 1846. The church represents over 175 years of African American history and culture in Anne Arundel, making it one of the oldest congregations in the county. Funding will support window and door replacement, a GPR survey, drainage improvements, carpentry work, and architectural and engineering services.
Sumner Cemetery ($45,000) – Cumberland, Allegany County | Sponsor: Cumberland Historic Cemetery Organization, Inc.
Established in 1884 by the Laboring Sons of Cumberland, a mutual aid society for and by African Americans during Reconstruction, Sumner Cemetery is the earliest organized African American burial ground in Alleghany County. The Cemetery is the burial site for United States Colored Troops Civil War veterans, as well as formerly enslaved individuals, educators, faith leaders, and early black civic leaders. Funding will support cemetery conservation, including repair and restoration of extant markers and interpretive signage.
Point of Rocks Colored Cemetery ($129,000) – Point of Rocks, Frederick County | Sponsor: The Point of Rocks Colored Cemetery 1879
The Point of Rocks Colored Cemetery, located in Point of Rocks, was established in 1879 on land purchased by the nearby Colored Methodist Church. The cemetery is the resting place of African Americans who were formerly enslaved, veterans of the Civil War, both World Wars, and the Korean War. Funding will support work at the cemetery, including ground penetrating radar, grave marker conservation, vegetation removals, signage, accessibility improvements, and the construction of a retaining wall and fence.
Charles Sumner Lodge No. 25, GAR ($40,000) – Chestertown, Kent County | Sponsor: GAR Post 25 Inc., (t/a “Sumner Hall”)
Charles Sumner Post #25 is the only remaining African American Grand Army of the Republic lodge in Maryland (of 28 originally constructed), and one of only two African American GAR lodges remaining today in the United States. The GAR was the principal fraternal association of Civil War veterans and America’s only integrated 19th-century social organization. Most of the men who founded the post were former slaves. The Post served as a hub for Chestertown’s African American community until 1985. The building is used for exhibits and events. Funding will support the replacement of front and back steps, window sill repair, siding repair, awning installation, and repainting of the exterior.
Goshen Farm ($51,000) – Annapolis, Anne Arundel County | Sponsor: Goshen Farm Preservation Society, Inc.
Goshen Farm, located in Cape St. Clare, is a mid-18th century Colonial-era farmstead that relied on the labor of enslaved African Americans. In the 1970s, the Anne Arundel County School Board purchased a portion of the property to build a school. Subsequently, the Goshen Farm Preservation Society was established to protect and preserve the historic farmstead and to educate the public on the inhabitants of the farm. In 2025, the site was officially recognized by the National Underground Network to Freedom. Funding will support improvements to the entry drive.
Orchard Street Church ($250,000) – Baltimore, Baltimore City | Sponsor: Greater Baltimore Urban League
The original Orchard Street Church was built in 1837 by enslaved and formerly enslaved African Americans. and served as a stop on the Underground Railroad. The church was eventually demolished and rebuilt in 1882 in a blend of Italian Renaissance and Romanesque Revival styles. In 1903, a Romanesque-style Sunday school wing was added. The building restoration plans were resumed when the Greater Baltimore Urban League acquired the building in 1989 and adapted it for civic use. Funding will be used to rehabilitate the building, including waterproofing and framing repairs.
Havre de Grace Colored School Museum and Cultural Center ($147,000) – Havre de Grace, Harford County | Sponsor: The Havre de Grace Colored School Museum and Cultural Center, Inc.
The original Havre de Grace Colored School is a two-room building constructed in 1910 by Harford County Public Schools to educate primary-school-age Black children. In 1930, a four-room brick addition was constructed to serve as the first public high school for African American students in Harford County. Prior to the construction of the high school, Harford County’s African American students had to travel to Baltimore City, Cecil County, or Pennsylvania to receive a high school education. The property is used as a museum and cultural center. Funding will support the rehabilitation of the slate roof.
Frederick Douglass Summer House ($149,000) – Highland Beach, Anne Arundel County | Sponsor: Town of Highland Beach
The Frederick Douglass Summer House is a Queen Anne-style frame dwelling that was constructed in ca. 1894 as a summer home for Frederick Douglass, who unfortunately did not live to see the project’s completion. The building is the oldest standing dwelling in Highland Beach – the first African American municipality in Maryland – and is currently used as a museum space for the Frederick Douglass Museum and Cultural Center, which hosts educational and cultural programming. Funding will support the rehabilitation of the exterior and interior of the building, including structural improvements and repair of the turret.
Hopkins Educational / Community Building ($250,000) – Highland, Howard County | Sponsor: Hopkins United Methodist Church
In 1949, Highland Elementary School (the current Hopkins Educational / Community Building) was opened by Howard County Public Schools as a dedicated learning community for African American students. Originally opening as a two-room school, it was remodeled in the early 60’s to add a third classroom. The school was traditionally associated with Hopkins United Methodist Church, which operated the Hopkins Chapel Colored School beginning in 1883 and the first Highland Elementary School beginning in 1926. Repurposed as the Hopkins Educational / Community Building, it continues to provide support services to the community as a hub offering intergenerational programming around health, wellness, youth development, senior citizen engagement, housing, and food insecurity. Funding will support exterior and interior rehabilitation of the building.
Galilee United Methodist Cemetery ($38,000) – Mechanicsville, St. Mary’s County | Sponsor: St. Mary’s College of Maryland
The Galilee Methodist Episcopal Church Cemetery, located in Mechanicsville, was established ca. 1880 on land purchased by the Galilee Methodist Episcopal Church, an African American congregation. The cemetery contains the remains of Civil War veteran J. E. Cully of Co. A, 9th United States Colored Infantry. Once conserved, the cemetery will provide a space for genealogical research and interpretation of the post-emancipation lives of African Americans in St. Mary’s County. Funding will support cemetery improvements, including fence installation, seating, and the installation of interpretive kiosks.
Mander House Museum ($250,000) – Worton, Kent County | Sponsor: Mander House Museum Limited
The Mander House Museum is located in Kent County and aims to tell the story of local African American freedmen and their contributions to the county before the Civil War. The museum will also share the stories of the residents who fought in the Union Army. Funding will support the rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of the building.
Boys’ Village of Maryland Cemetery ($200,000) – Cheltenham, Prince George’s County | Sponsor: Maryland Department of Juvenile Services
The Boys’ Village of Maryland Cemetery was first constructed in the late 1800’s, soon after the opening of the House of Reformation for Colored Boys. The House of Reformation for Colored Boys was a black-only youth correctional facility established only nine years after slavery was abolished in Maryland. The institution implemented a system of convict leasing and corporal punishment, and the cemetery was established for children who had died at the facility. The cemetery was largely forgotten until recently, when the Department of Juvenile Services rediscovered the cemetery in 2024. While there are over 230 known burials, only a small section is marked by headstones, while others are marked with cinderblocks, and many are unmarked. If approved, the funding will support a cemetery conservation project that includes ground-penetrating radar, marker restoration, new markers, interpretive signage, memorials, and permanent benches.
John Howard House ($250,000) – Brookeville, Montgomery County | Sponsor: Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Park Service
The John Howard House in the Patuxent River State Park is a two-story balloon-frame house constructed in 1869 by George Enoch Howard. The house remained in the Howard family until 1943. It was acquired by the State of Maryland as part of the DNR resident curatorship program. Funding will support exterior rehabilitation of the house.
Mt. Pleasant Acres Farms ($226,000) – Preston, Caroline County | Sponsor: Mt. Pleasant Heritage Preservation Inc.
The house at Mt. Pleasant Acres Farms was constructed in 1860. Harriet Tubman’s father was emancipated and granted ten acres there, after several years of attempting escape. In 1854, Tubman led her brothers to freedom from this region. The house sits upon Mt. Pleasant Acres farmland with ancestral ties to the Tubmans and represents the history of a Black land-holding farmstead in the region. The farm aims to utilize the house for future programming that honors traditions of Black agrarianism, oral histories of the region, and the legacy of the Tubmans. Funding will support interior and exterior rehabilitation of the house so it may be used for public education.
Sanaa Center Project ($250,000) – Baltimore, Baltimore City | Sponsor: Pennsylvania Avenue Black Arts and Entertainment District
The Sanaa Center, located in the Old West Baltimore Historic District, is in the heart of the Pennsylvania Avenue corridor. The project will be an expansion of the pre-existing Harris Marcus Center and new construction on 12 vacant lots in the 1900 block of Pennsylvania Avenue. The avenue is known for its African-American-owned entertainment venues. However, the Sanaa Center project aims to fill an unmet need for Black-led start-ups, creative enterprises, and arts entrepreneurs. The project will also provide the space to expand and increase Black Arts District’s educational programming so that it can engage a wider audience. Funding will support early-stage construction and site activation to prepare for vertical construction.
Old Pomonkey High School ($250,000) – Bryans Road, Charles County | Sponsor: Pomonkey High School Alumni Association
Old Pomonkey High School served as the first African American public high school in Charles County. Established in 1922, the original frame building was replaced in the 1930s by a one-story structure with high ceilings, large windows, and Colonial Revival styling. In the 1950s, a one-story gymnasium wing was added; this is currently the only portion of the building that remains after a fire in the 1980s destroyed the 1930s portion. The building will become a cultural center and museum, with the 1950s wing rehabilitated and the 1930s portion ultimately rebuilt. Funding will support interior rehabilitation of the building.
St. James AME Church Gravel Hill ($137,000) – Havre de Grace, Harford County | Sponsor: The St. James A.M.E. Church of Gravel Hill Road, Inc.
One of the oldest African American churches in Harford County, St. James A.M.E. Church traces its roots to 1849 when one congregation encompassed a wide swath of Harford County. In 1864, members of the Gravel Hill community constructed their own church building, which also served as a school and social hall. Adjacent to the church is St. James A.M.E. Cemetery, where several Civil War veterans are buried. Extensive renovations and additions to the gable-front, frame church were completed in the 1970s and 1980s. Funding will support the interior and exterior rehabilitation of the church as well as cemetery conservation efforts.
St. James Free Methodist Church ($129,000) – Quantico, Wicomico County | Sponsor: Raising the Foundation at St. James Free Methodist Church
St. James Free Methodist Church aims to preserve the historic building that has been a part of the community for 127 years. The church intends to create a Living History Educational Center to collect and share the testimonies of struggle, resistance, and growth. Funds will support an interior and exterior rehabilitation project, including masonry, floor replacement, and site work.
Chesapeake Lodge Number 48 / Jessie J. Shanks Lodge Number 137 ($250,000) – Havre De Grace, Harford County | Sponsor: The Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge F. & A.M. of Maryland & Its Jurisdiction, Inc.
The masonic hall located in the Havre De Grace National Register Historic District serves several branches and chapters of the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Maryland, including the Chesapeake Lodge Number 48 and the Jessie J. Shanks Lodge Number 137. These lodges were established in the early twentieth century to provide a path to Freemasonry for African Americans and an important community hub. Today, the lodges host voter registration drives, food drives, and school supply giveaways. Funds will support structural repairs and the rehabilitation of the building and grounds.
American Hall ($115,000) – Hagerstown, Washington County | Sponsor: The Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge F. & A.M. of Maryland & Its Jurisdiction, Inc.
American Hall, located in Hagerstown Historic District (NR), aims to restore the building so it can contribute to the Hagerstown Historic District and Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area. The project intends to create a new Civil War and Civil Rights themed destination in the Civil War tourism corridor that Hagerstown is central to, attracting visitors in the region visiting Civil War sites. Funding will support architectural drawings, structural work, rehabilitation of the building, roof, gutter, and downspout replacements, and an accessible bathroom addition.
Union Street United Methodist Church ($250,000) – Westminster, Carroll County | Sponsor: Union Street United Methodist Church
The Union Street United Methodist Church was constructed ca. 1866 in brick church with a later central tower on the front and nave extension at the rear. It was built on land donated by Amos and Rebecca Bell – land granted to them after they gained freedom. The church was designed by a self-educated former slave, Rev. John B. Snowden (1801-1885), and is distinguished by intricate brick corbeling at the eaves and gable end. After the Civil War, the church operated a Freedman’s Bureau school; classes were likely held in the church until the school building was completed in 1869. The church building was expanded in 1983. Funding will support interior and exterior rehabilitation of the building, including window repair and masonry work.
West Liberty United Methodist Church ($170,000) – 2000 Sand Hill Road, Marriottsville, MD 21104, Howard County | Sponsor: West Liberty United Methodist Church
The West Liberty United Methodist Church cemetery is the sacred burial grounds for many African American residents from the surrounding Henryton and Marriottsville communities (formerly Alpha, Maryland) dating back to the 1800s. Individuals buried at this cemetery include veterans from the Civil War, World War I, World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam War. Many of the deceased who were once hospitalized at the Henryton State Hospital and the Maryland Tuberculosis Sanatorium, which was established to treat African Americans with tuberculosis, were also buried there. The cemetery has connections to Howard County’s first all-black high school, as well as to those buried at the Catoctin Furnace African American Burial Ground in Frederick. Funding will support a cemetery conservation project that seeks to restore and reconstruct damaged and buried monuments.
Margaret Jenkins House ($226,000) – Baltimore, Baltimore City | Sponsor: The Women’s Housing Coalition, Inc.
The Margaret Jenkins House was built in 1868 by Phillip Hanson Hiss as his personal home. By 1889, Margaret Anne Austin Jenkins had raised enough money to purchase the residence and open it as an orphanage called St. Elizabeth’s School. In the 1950s, the orphanage was repurposed to serve as a nursery for Black children in the community. In 2007, the Women’s Housing Coalition and Homes for America purchased the home to serve the unhoused population. Funding will support exterior rehabilitation of the property.
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