Before the Civil War, Enoch George Howard was enslaved by the Gaither family, whose name remains familiar throughout Montgomery County. Using his agricultural knowledge and business skills, Howard earned and saved enough money to purchase his freedom. He later purchased freedom for Harriet and their children. In 1862, during the Civil War, he bought Locust Villa, the plantation where his family members were enslaved.
The Howards expanded their holdings, farmed the surrounding acreage, and helped build a thriving African American community. Their property included a chapel that served local Black residents and a school that supported the education of community children. By the time of Enoch Howard’ s death, the family’ s landholdings had more than doubled.
The family’ s influence eventually extended well beyond Montgomery County.
One of Enoch and Harriet’ s daughters, Martha Elizabeth Howard Murphy, sold her portion of the family property and used the proceeds to help purchase the Baltimore Afro-American. Under the leadership of the Murphy family, the newspaper became one of the nation’ s most consequential Black-owned publications
Top: Maryland Park Service Director Angela Crenshaw at the Howard Family Cemetery. Above: Placing sea glass on a gravestone in the Howard family cemetery at Freedman’ s State Park. Left: Hiking to the ruins of Locust Villa, a 1790s plantation house, during the dedication of Freedman’ s State Park in May 2026. plenty I autumn harvest 2026 33