Martinsburg

A historic Black community in Montgomery County, MD

The Warren historic site, also known as Martinsburg, in Dickerson, MD

Nathan Naylor, the founder of Martinsburg, appears in the 1850 census as a 38-year-old, free Black man living in Darnestown and working as a laborer, (one of few free Blacks in the area). (U.S. Census Bureau 1850) He has no assets listed and cannot read or write. He was born in Cold Spring, MD, up the river in Washington County, MD. His parents were born in Virginia. (Could he have traveled 60 miles down the Potomac to find work as a laborer on the canal?)

In 1866 Mr. Naylor purchased 97 acres of land in Dickerson, Maryland and by 1870 was surrounded by Black neighbors. (U.S. Census Bureau 1870) In 1867 he and his wife, Ann, sold a 60’x 60’ plot of land to a group of trustees – including Nathan Naylor – for a new school. A church was built in 1866, and moved a year later to the present site of the Warren United Methodist Church, which was rebuilt after a fire in 1903. The school was erected in 1886 and was attended by about 40 local Black students.

(Top left) Martinsburg church, school and lodge hall. (Top right) Martinsburg ancestor photos and "The Gospel Train" painting at the altar. (Bottom left) Chuck Copeland and Beth Baker in front of the Lodge Hall. (Bottom right) Detail of 1865 Martenet & Bond map.

Today Martinsburg is one of the only (or perhaps the only) historic Black communities in Maryland with a historic church, school and a benefit society lodge (the Loving Charity Hall). (Warren Historic Site 2019)

Families in 1880 (partial) included: Lewis Diggs, Nathan & Sally Diggs, Nathan & Anne Nailor, Isaac & Nancy Beltis, Ellen Lee, Daniel & Helen Busy, George & Anna Thomas. (U.S. Census 1880, pp. 22-23) These residents would have been strongly affected by the 1880 lynching of Mr. George W. Peck, as they were one of the two closest Black communities to Poolesville.

To learn more and to schedule a tour, see the Warren Historic Site website for their information and email address. Also read Eliza’s Delight: Martinsburg, story by Howard (Chuck) C. Copeland III.

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Photos by Neile Whitney

References

Buglass, Ralph. 2026. “Montgomery County, Maryland’s Historic African-American Communities.” MontgomeryHistory.org. Maryland: Montgomery History. January 2026. https://montgomeryhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Montgomery-County-African-American-communities.pdf

Clarke, Nina Honemond. 1983. History of the Nineteenth-Century Black Churches in Maryland and Washington, D.C. First. New York, NY: Vantage Press, Inc.

Copeland III, Howard (Chuck). Conversations with Neile Whitney. 2023-2026.

District of Columbia Freedman's Bureau Records 1865-72. 1867. “Nathan Nailor & Wife Deed for Colored School.” Property Transferred to School Trustees for School, January. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9TH-K98P-Q?view=index&cc=2427894&lang=en&groupId=

"Find a Grave Index", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6K53-YQ5G : Fri Apr 04 06:34:12 UTC 2025), Entry for Nathan Naylor.

Martenet, Simon J. 1865. “Martenet and Bond’s Map of Montgomery County, Maryland.” The Library of Congress. Simon J. Martenet. 1865. https://www.loc.gov/item/2002620533/

McDaniel, George W. 1979. Black Historical Resources in Upper Western Montgomery County, pp. 119-128. Maryland: Sugarloaf Regional Trails.

"United States, Census, 1850", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MD4V-V8P : Thu Jan 09 00:55:58 UTC 2025), Entry for Thomas Dawson and Hilean Jr Hoskinson, 1850.

"United States, Census, 1870", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MN3J-R9Y : Wed Oct 15 08:26:16 UTC 2025), Entry for Nathan Naylor and Ann Naylor, 1870.

"United States, Census, 1880", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MNQ5-BNG : Sun Oct 19 08:43:27 UTC 2025), Entry for Nathan Nailor and Thomas Nailor, 1880.

This article is part of MoCoLMP's project mapping our historic Black communities and their relationship to sites of enslavement during the Civil War. The map also shows the locations of the three known lynchings in 19th century Montgomery County, MD.