Did You Know? #16 The First Public School for Black Children from Guilford was in Annapolis Junction

Two seemingly unrelated topics – the building of the first public school in Guilford by 1878 and the reported lynching of Hezekiah Brown in 1884 - are actually related. These two stories intersect in the parallel worlds of public education in Guilford – one world for the White students and the other for Black students. The Howard County Lynching, Truth and Reconciliation Website (http://www.hocoltr.org/lynchings/rev-hezekiah-brown/) explores the history of Hezekiah Brown as well as the public education in Maryland and Howard County. It also makes another important contribution – explaining the painstaking research and critical thinking that goes into verifying the identities and associated background of historic HoCo figures and the context of the time in which they were living.

In 1878 Guilford, when John T.R.R. Carroll became the public school teacher in Guilford and retired in 1902, the Black population was becoming more stable in part by land ownership and available work on local farms. However there were few schools available for the Black students – where could they have gone to school?

A look at the State Board of Education records showed colored schools in District 6 – also called the Guilford District (see map) – did not appear until the 1874-1875 school year. One or two colored schools existed until the 1883-1884 when schools #1 and #2 appeared consistently. School #2 did not have trustees named until the 1887-1888 school year.

Where were these colored schools in 1878?

The attached map shows the two schools – one near Laurel and the other near Annapolis Junction.   School #1 in District 6 was located in Laurel, based on county and state records, looking at the 1878 Hopkins Atlas and the names of the trustees who looked after the school. The Hopkins Atlas shows a school, just over a mile from Laurel, located off of Stephens and Old Annapolis Roads (now Whiskey Bottom Road) which was later called “Colesville School” and was recognized as a former colored school (https://mht.maryland.gov/secure/medusa/PDF/Howard/HO-917.pdf). At least two of the trustees for this school - – Dennis Moore and Thomas Waters - lived along Whiskey Bottom Road east of Stephens Road. The Maryland Historical Trust form HO-917 listed the Colesville school with a Laurel address as it still is today. This school would have been quite far away for anyone from Guilford to attend.

School #2 in District 6 was located in Annapolis Junction according to state and county records. It wasn’t until the 1883-1884 school year that the Annapolis Junction school appeared in the records that Howard County submitted to the State Board of Education with the teacher being Ms. Annie Edmunds. Finally a school that the children of Guilford could attend.

But where exactly was this school in Annapolis Junction?

The best we can determine is that it was associated with the Asbury Methodist Episcopal Church property the school that Hezekiah Brown had taught at was in a church building next door . In fact, in a December 15, 1884 Baltimore Sun article entitled “No Truth in the Lynching Story”, it was stated that “he has been teaching school in Howard County since September 17th. His school is located about one mile and a-half from Annapolis Junction, on the road leading from that station to Washington pike”. As we know, that was Guilford Road right about the location of the Asbury ME Church property. We are still trying to figure out which structure the school might have been located in – likely one of the meeting halls that had been built at some point.

The Colored school at Annapolis Junction was the closest for any of the children in Guilford, except for the White school at Guilford and Oakland Mills Roads. The children in Guilford would traveled, by foot, at least 2 miles beyond the White school to reach the school Annapolis Junction. That would have been a difficult trek in the winter or inclement weather but many likely did it.  

Hezekiah Brown Teaching near Annapolis Junction

Hezekiah Brown’s reported lynching occurred in December of 1884 and his statement indicated he had only been in the Asbury area for a very short time, preached at the church several times and had a school for children. We know from the Sun article he was actually teaching at the school during this time as he was a new arrival to the area. Mr. Brown continued to teach at School #2 in District 6 through the 1896-1897 school year to become the principal teacher at the Ellicott City Colored School the following school year.  Also, keep in mind the likely explanation for the reported lynching of Hezekiah Brown is because he tried in integrate his public school by teaching a White child.

But what about a Guilford school?

The need for education was stark and on April 2, 1889, Guilford resident Samuel Green approached the HoCo School Board on behalf of “a large number of colored children…who are now very remote from a public school and asked the board to build a school house at Guilford". Of course, if you read about the public education in HoCo from the link above, you would know that the Black community was generally dismissed in their requests and had to fight for every opportunity to educate their children while also raising funds for, and maintaining, the few public schools that were allowed.

Samuel Green’s request in 1889 was given “due consideration” and the following meeting on April 16th the Board requested funds to build 3 schools including a “colored school in Annapolis Junction”. The Board meeting on May 7th continued to consider the “petition for a new school house for colored school between Guilford and Annapolis Junction” and deferred any decision to another time. At this time there were two schools for Black students in our sixth election district – one by Laurel and one at Annapolis Junction. At the July 2nd, 1889 meeting of the school board it shows “The Secretary [of the board] was also instructed to request the trustees of the col. School [sic] at Annapolis Junction to appear before the Board at the regular meeting in August to confer about the proposed new school house at that place” and in August the matter was “deferred to another meeting”. On Nov. 7th it was decided to just repair the school and $36 was provided.

It wasn’t until the 1905-1906 school year that a school for Black children was finally built in Guilford. This school will be addressed in another post.