Free Black Perspectives in Easton, Maryland

Summary

Since 2011, Archaeology in Annapolis has been researching a free African American neighborhood known as The Hill in Easton, Maryland, that was established before 1790. At the invitation of local community members, archaeologists were brought into the project to work with local residents and scholars from Morgan State University conducting documentary, oral, and architectural history. The goal is to use research and the remembrances of the past to promote community preservation and development in the present. As we excavate the material contributions of free blacks to Easton’s earliest years, we use contemporary authors, including Frederick Douglass who was raised locally and connected to the neighborhood, to interpret this community’s past in ways that contribute to The Hill’s future.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Archaeologies of the Written Word: Examining the Importance of Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century Literature   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2014

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): SYM-28,04