Did You Know? #15 The First Public School in Guilford was Opened by 1878?

The earliest map we could find of schools in Howard County was the 1860 Martinet Map which was the most comprehensive map at that time. It showed each of Howard County’s 5 election districts and Guilford was originally in election district one. The attached map shows the location of the 6 schools in the First District with the closest ones being on what is now called Mission Road, one on Gorman Road, and the other in Savage. At this time school education was directly paid by the parents so only the wealthier families could afford to have their children educated.

The beginning of free public school education in Guilford was the same throughout Howard County and Maryland. It began with the narrowly passed Maryland Constitution in 1864 which not only ended slavery in Maryland but allowed for a tax-based public education for everyone https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/13sdoe/

Of course, not everyone was immediately offered a free public education and for some it took many decades to get nearly adequate school facilities and segregated schools would not end for another 100 years. The teacher at School #4 on Gorman Road, shown on the 1860 Martinet map, was Guilford resident Mr. John Thomas Ridgely Randolph Carroll, known in many records as John T.R.R. Carroll.

In September 1876, Martin and Maria Pattison gave their land to the School Commissioners of Howard County for $1, the same land that was sold to them by George and Julia just a few months earlier in June. George Marlow was the son of Eliza Marlow who was buried in the Guilford Quarry Cemetery in 1838.

The new school was opened by 1878 as seen on the Hopkins Atlas map as a replacement for School #3 that at the time may have existed either in Savage or off of Gorman Road. Mr. Carroll, who was a teacher at the start of the free public school era of the 1865-1866 school year, was the original teacher at this Guilford school. He continued in his job through the 1900-1901 school year – 35 years as a teacher – until replaced by Ms. Lillian Earp.

On June 4, 1940 the School Board discussed closing 4 schools, among them was the Guilford school. Apparently it was more than a discussion since the School Board received bids for the school property on September 9, 1941. This school may have been used through the 1940-1941 school year and then was sold to Henry J.W. Sieling in October of 1941.

There was a somewhat parallel situation for the Black children and parents in Guilford who would have needed to travel to Annapolis Junction for an education. They did not have their own school in Guilford until more than 25 years after a public school opened for the white children. My next several posts will discuss the efforts of the Guilford community to ensure ALL of their children received a public education.