n POOLESVILLE : Town , Bank , Store HistoricMedley . org
THEME : African American town life . n BOYDS NEGRO SCHOOL 19510 White Ground Road Boyds • BoydsHistory . org ( Please check for hours and programs .)
BACKGROUND : The town of Poolesville was founded in 1793 in an area occupied by Native
Historic bank building
Americans . It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places . This early crossroads settlement served the surrounding farms and community . By the mid 1800s , Poolesville was a thriving commercial and farming center served by the C & O Canal and the nearby B & O Railroad .
In addition to working as farm laborers , African Americans provided skilled labor to most local businesses . In its heyday , Poolesville was home to a skilled workforce of blacksmiths , cobblers , wheelwrights , coopers , tailors , barbers , and carpenters . Livery stables , taverns , general stores , and a hotel were among the services available . While African Americans likely worked in such businesses , these institutions would not serve them as customers or had rules for separate treatment .
On the outskirts of town , Black communities began to thrive supporting schools , churches , and benefit halls which served residents .
CIVIL WAR : Both the Union and Confederate armies occupied Poolesville and surrounding areas . During these occupations ’ both Black and White men were conscripted or compulsorily signed up for military service .
Patrick Warren , enslaved by James Davidson , was recruited in Poolesville in November 1864 . Warren served in the 4th United States Colored Infantry , an
Escape ad
African-American unit that took part in William Tecumseh Sherman ’ s Carolinas Campaign and featured Congressional Medal winners in its ranks . After the war , Warren returned to civilian life as a farm laborer , making his home in Poolesville with his wife and daughter .
LYNCHING : George Washington Peck was the first recorded of three known Black men lynched in Montgomery County in the 1800s . Born into slavery , Peck lived in the Poolesville / Beallsville area his entire life , which was about 22 years . In January of 1880 , he was accused of attempted assault of a White girl and arrested by the constable . Before he could be transported to Rockville for a trial , a crowd of local men seized him in the night and hanged him from a tree in downtown Poolesville until he died .
The victims of lynching in Montgomery County are being memorialized by the Equal Justice Initiative of Alabama ’ s nationwide Remembrance and Reconciliation Project .
AMENITIES : Food , restrooms , interpretive panels .
“ Equal means getting the same thing , at the same time , and in the same place .”
~ supreme court justice thurgood marshall
THEME : Segregated schooling .
BACKGROUND : Boyds was classic railroad boomtown . It sprang up after the Civil War in the late 1860s to house workers building the Metropolitan Branch of the B & O Railroad . When railroad service began in 1873 , a station was built , followed by a mill , stores , and other businesses .
The coming of the rail line also brought jobs . African American families living in the area had increased employment opportunities , which provided economic stability . In 1895 a school was built to serve the workers ’ children .
SCHOOL : The one-room , 22 ’ x 30 ’ wooden building was heated by a wood stove . It served as the only public school for African Americans in Boyds , Turner Town , Black Town , and White Ground from 1895-1936 . The schoolhouse served students in grades 1-8 , many of whom walked for miles to attend classes .
At the time of its operation , schools were segregated with White children attending one school and African American students attending another . Segregation was applied to many areas of daily life such as eating in restaurants , riding public transit ,