African American Town of Sugarland . Located five miles southeast of Poolesville , Sugarland was founded by freed slaves immediately after emancipation in Maryland in 1864 . At its height , the town had a church , a school , a store , a post office , and a practice hall for the town band . Today , countless descendants in Montgomery County and across the country can trace their roots to this self-reliant , tight-knit community with a fascinating and long-overdue story to tell .
For Gwen and Suzanne , spreading the word about Sugarland is a personal mission . Gwen was born and raised in the com-
A handwritten church ledger provides insights into cooperation and conflicts at Sugarland during the 1880s and 1890s . Photo courtesy of the Sugarland
Ethno-History Project .
munity , and Suzanne and her siblings enjoyed many childhood summers at Sugarland with their grandfather . As leaders of the nonprofit Sugarland Ethno-History Project , they ’ ve spent decades preserving , collecting , and sharing tangible aspects of their history , including rare documents , oneof-a-kind photographs , and the 19th century Sugarland church building itself . In 2019 , when Gwen and Suzanne felt ready to turn their extensive collection into a book , they welcomed Jeff , whose 20 years of writing , editing , and research experience helped bring the project the last mile of the way . “ When we began , we didn ’ t foresee that we would be making some history of our own ,” notes Suzanne . “ We knew we would be restoring an important chapter to the history of the Agricultural Reserve , but we now believe that I Have Started for Canaan will also be the first book-length history of a Reconstruction-era
One of the many mysteries that remain is the identity of this “ unknown soldier ” from World War I , whose portrait was found in the Sugarland photo collection . Photo courtesy of the Sugarland Ethno- History Project .
African American town in all of Maryland .”
What was life like in a local African American settlement after emancipation ? The answers to that question may surprise you . I Have Started for Canaan will introduce readers to a community working hard to control its own destiny in the face of discrimination and limited opportunity . Even so , the lives of the Sugarland families were about far more than their labor in white neighbors ’ fields . They were landowners who valued independence whenever they could attain it . They were devout Christians , respected preachers , and founders of neighboring churches . They were advocates of education for their children . They were musicians . They were veterans of every war . They were involved in politics — and for a while in the early
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