Tracing Freedom is an ongoing research project about the Sites of Enslavement (SOEs) in early-1860s Montgomery County, MD and the county’s historic Black communities. MoCoLMP hopes this research deepens understanding of the county’s historical involvement with slavery and the resilience of those enslaved people and their descendants.
Sites of Enslavement (SOE)
This map shows more than 280 of the 770 sites of enslavement (SOE) in Montgomery County during the Civil War. Most slaveholders (580) owned one or two persons. The larger enslavers owned as many as 100 persons (most enslaved far fewer), using them to work in farming, household duties, in businesses such as the many mills in the area, or renting them out to other landowners and businessmen. We focused most of our research on finding the locations of those who enslaved more than nine people. The names of the enslaved are noted, if known.
Tracing Freedom: Sites of Enslavement
Historic Black Communities (HBCs)
Researchers have counted the historic Black communities (HBCs) in Montgomery County in various ways. Many of the HBCs were kinship communities with a few homes, composed only of family members (grandparents, parents, children, cousins) who worshipped, attended school, and socialized with each other and with nearby communities. But communities such as Sugarland, Emory Grove and Scotland included 40 or 50 families, and 200 persons or more. ​
Stewartown elders at Goshen United Methodist Church, May 2025
The church, school, benevolent society, and other centers of the community were built here. Smaller satellite communities would have come to these communities for church, school, and in some cases, a store, juke joint or post office. Some researchers have linked those groups of communities together, so different maps have shown as few as 40 or as many as 120 historic Black communities.
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We identified both a number of communities that were very small and yet were named, and a number of others that have disappeared over time. We have named and identified and listed each one in the hope there may be descendants who can tell us who lived there and what was special about each of them.
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We began by focusing on communities formed during Reconstruction (1865-1877), but discovered many in the county that were firmly established before the Civil War, or were formed around the turn of the 19th century as the county started to develop. We decided to include all of them, so that we could learn about each of their histories and accomplishments. The map includes over 140 historic Black communities, founded between 1793 and 1940.
How to use the map
On your laptop
When you open the map on your laptop, you will see a map with blue houses, showing historic Black communities in Montgomery County founded between 1801 and about 1940. There are also deep red corncobs indicating Sites of Enslavement (SOEs) between 1860–1865, green markers indicating historic markers for the three documented lynchings in the County, and yellow and green dollar signs for places known to regularly offer the enslaved for sale.
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Clicking on the boxes next to each grouping (SOEs, HBCs, etc.) will show that group, or you can click them off to make the other groups easier to see.
Once you click on a group, clicking on the small down arrow under the group title will show a list of all the properties or communities in that group. Click on any of them to find information for that specific place.
Use the small magnifying glass icon to the right of the “Tracing Freedom…” title to search for specific places.
When you click on a specific enslaver location or historic Black community, a panel will pop up on the left of the page with some information about that place. The HBCs will have links to further information on the MoCoLMP website. (The SOEs are not the focus of this research, so do not have additional information.)
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The arrow sign (to the right of “Martinsburg / Warren”, at the top, in this example) will send you to the directions page.
On your phone
For the full experience of the map on your phone, you will need to use the Google Maps app and give it access to your location.
Open the map using this link. Save it to your maps, and then next time you will click on “You” at the bottom, and then “Maps.” There you will find “Tracing Freedom, Family, and Place After Emancipation” and then “View the map legend.” The legend allows you to show whichever parts of the map interest you, either one at a time or all at the same time. Then use the back arrow to go back to the map.
Icons​​
Click on any one of the icons, whether green house, orange corn, green lynching historic marker, or yellow and green dollar sign for places known to regularly offer the enslaved for sale.​​
Learn More​​
We have detailed information on some of the sites, and little-to-none for others—our volunteers will continue to research and we will add information as we find it. The HBC popups have a “Learn More” section that, when clicked, will lead you to the MoCoLMP website.​​​ If you have information to share on these communities, please let us know!
Directions​
You can also click on one of the icons for historic Black communities and then click “Directions,” if you want to visit any of the locations. (Example, left.) The site description will tell you whether there are buildings, churches or cemeteries remaining that you can see.
The Project Continues​
Some HBCs have been well-researched in the past and have a lot of information to offer. Some may be lost as descendants moved away or were displaced. We will continue to add information as we find it. And we hope that you will get started here and then use the links provided and your own research skills to find out more.​
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Please note that we see this as an ongoing project done entirely by volunteers. We are very grateful for the many hours of work put into researching, writing, and proofreading materials.
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We will update information as it becomes available. In the meantime, we hope the data will be useful to students of history, and we invite you to contact us with questions or comments.
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Specific sources are listed on each area page.