in Catonsville, Maryland
ESSIE GARRETT
in Catonsville, Maryland
Essie will meet with Louis Diggs, in Catonsville, Maryland, who has organized the itinerary below, and provided the great pictures.
ï. ITINERARY .ï
"RUN-ESSIE-RUN"
Here's the plan for the visit to Catonsville, Maryland by Ultramarathon Runner Essie Garrett from Denver, Colorado, as she makes a historic 500 mile run from the birth place of Harriett Tubman to Canada, retracing a segment of the Underground Railroad.
Ms. Garrett's run begins on August 1, 1998 at Bucktown, Maryland, the birthplace of the famous abolitionist and railroad "conductor" Harriett Tubman. On day four of her run, August 4, 1998, she will arrive in Catonsville, Maryland from Severna Park, Maryland. The time of her arrival in Catonsville is not known, but it is expected that it will be in the late morning, or very early afternoon. Plans call for her to remain in Catonsville overnight, leaving the next day for a stop in Timonium, Maryland.
Mr. Diggs has arranged with the editor of the Catonsville Times to have a reporter and photographer meet the group at their first stop. Additional arrangements have been made with Old Country Buffet on Baltimore National Pike for complimentary lunches for Essie and her entourage, and arrangements made with Howard Johnson's Motel also on Baltimore National Pike for the group to have comfortable rooms for the night of August 4th.
Julie DeMatties of the Catonsville Public Library with Louis Diggs and Lenwood Johnson will host her during her stay in Catonsville, and arrange for tours of suspected safehouses in the Catonsville area, and other areas of African American history interest. The following is the itinerary:
First Louis will show them the Benjamin Banneker Museum and Center in Catonsville, Maryland. (Note: Lenwood Johnson has made arrangements for the motor home to be parked at the Benjamin Banneker Historical Park and Museum, and for some type of reception at the center.)
While at the Benjamin Banneker Historical Park and Museum, Lenwood and the center staff will provide a tour of the facilities for Essie and her entourage
Following the tour, Julie DeMatteis, Louis Diggs, and Lenwood Johnson will give a presentation to Essie and her entourage about the suspected underground railroad route through Catonsville in specific and Baltimore County in general.
Following the presentation, Louis, Lenwood, and possibly Julie will ride in the motor home with Essie and her entourage, directing them to some of the suspected safehouses for the underground railroad, and other places of African American historical interest. Visits will be made to the following areas:
Mount Gilboa Church, Oella, Maryland
1st stop: To Mt. Gilboa AME Church in Catonsville. Lenwood will make the presentation (Note: This is one of the older African American Churches in Baltimore County. Its history goes back to the 1700s. Sometimes referred to as Mt. Gilboa or "Africa.")
2nd stop: Catonsville Senior Center on Rolling Road in Catonsville. Louis will make the presentation (Note: Louis Diggs, in his research on his first book, "It All Started On Winters Lane" was told a story by a very senior African American in the Winters Lane community, that he remembers hearing talk about "runaway slaves hiding in tunnels in this area during daylight hours.")
3rd stop: Old Frederick Road and Commonwealth Avenue in Catonsville. Louis will make the presentation (Note: Louis Diggs was told a story by the late Arnold Waters Ebb, who was in his nineties at the time, that when he was just a youngster, he recalls hearing older African Americans from the Winters Lane area talking about a huge oak tree located at this point, and runaway slaves. On certain nights members of the community would lock themselves in their homes as they would hear chains rattling around this old oak tree, that runaway slaves would be making their way up North, and that the free Blacks in the area would be in constant fear of being caught outside and being sent back to slavery themselves.)
NOTE: Since arrangements have been made to have Essie and her entourage enjoy a delicious lunch compliments of the management of The Old County Buffet on Baltimore National Pike between the hours of 11:00 AM and 3:00 PM, the tour of Catonsville will pause at this time, and we will proceed to the Old Country Buffet. It is anticipated that lunch will run from 45 minutes to one hour.
4th stop: Emmarts United Methodist Church located on the corners of Rolling Road and Dogwood Road in Hebbville. Julie or Louis will make the presentation. (Note: Emmarts United Methodist Church was built around 1850. It is said that runaway slaves were hidden in the belfry until they were moved by the underground railroad, and when the railroad stopped or slowed down, there were certain designated "safehouses" of kind White persons in the area that would shelter the runaway slaves until the railroad started moving again)
5th stop: Cooper shop on Featherbed Lane in Woodlawn, owned by Nicholas Smith, an African American, who during the slavery era hid runaway slaves in barrels that he made and dried. Louis or Julie to make the presentation. (Note: Nicholas Smith was born in 1798 on the farm of his father, Lakin Smith, on Rolling Road. He was a freight hauler and a cooper. In his cooper shop located at 1940 Featherbed Lane, Smith made and dried barrels which he hauled to Washington to sell. He died in 1873 and was buried in the family graveyard near Rona and Nasum Roads. His cooper shop remained on the property until atleast the late 1970s. It is no longer there, and neither is his home. (Source: Woodlawn, Franklintown and Hebbville, Three Communities - Two Centuries, by the Woodlawn Historical Society, 1977) (On the 6th stop, we will be visiting this graveyard that has been designated a historic African American site by Baltimore County)
The Cooper Shop on Featherbed Lane in Woodlawn, MD,
where Nicholas Smith hid runaway slaves in barrels and
took them north to freedom.
A closeup of Nicholas Smith's tombstone.
6th stop: The burial grounds of Nicholas Smith who was supposedly a station keeper on the underground railroad. The graveyard is near the intersection of Nasam and Rona Roads, in a thorny patch of land with six (6) tombstones. This is very similar to the graveyard of the Harris' of Catonsville, located in the upper end of Winters Lane in an area called "Harristown." Louis will make the presentation (Note: This graveyard is located immediately behind the property line of 2819 Rona Road, just off of the 6800 block of Windsor Mill Road. There is a very short paved area between 2821 and 2918 Rona Road, which is not marked, but assumed to be Nasam Road. The graveyard with the six (6) tombstones, with only four (4) still standing, are located approximately 25-30 feet from t end of this paved road to the right. This site has been designated as an historical African American site, and is in dire need of clearing up. I have attached a map on how to get to the site, and identifications on the tombstones to this agenda.)
The Pierpoint house on Rolling Road. This was one of the "safehouses"
for runaway slaves on the underground railroad.
7th stop: The Robert Pierpoint home on Rolling Road at Liberty Road where runaway slaves supposedly hid in the cellar as they travelled the underground railroad. This was one of the "safehouses" used by the runaway slaves when Emmarts United Methodist Church was too full. Louis will make the presentation. (Note: According to stories passed down to the current owners of the Pierpoint home, Mr. & Mrs. Supik, when the Emmarts UM Church was full of runaway slaves in the belfry, as the underground railroad was stopped, the excess slaves were directed to several White homes in the area. The Pierpoint home was such a safehouse. The slaves were directed to the rear of the house, to open the large doors that led to the cellar, and the slaves were directed to feel for a certain brick as they slid their hands down the pitch dark cellar way. The brick was protruding with a particular feel to it. When this feel was recognized, the slaves knew they were in safe haven. During the slavery era, the Pierpoint house was located on Dogwood, not far from Emmarts United Methodist Church. In the late 1800s the house was moved to its current location on Rolling Road. Mrs. Supik shared with me a bill reflecting the cost to move the Pierpoint house by rolling it on logs to its current location.)
Union Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church
8th stop: Next, Louis will lead the group to the old Union Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church located on Liberty Road in Randallstown. Louis will make the presentation (During the slavery era, according to an article that appeared in The Baltimore Evening Sun on August 3, 1992, titled "A Church on the Move," Union Bethel AME Church was built around 1826 on donated land called George's Park to free Blacks in predominantly White Randallstown so that they could build a church. The original church was called "Good Hope Church," because they had hope for the future. Because the church was built of logs, they nicknamed it "Little Log Church." In the mid-1800s, the name the church was changed to its current name. The article notes that the church was used in the underground railroad. In the rear of the church is an African American cemetery, and to the side of the church was a Masonic Hall that served as a school house of the children of the area. In 1992 the church was relocated to historic Church Lane.)
9th stop: The bridge over the stream on Windsor Mill Road, not far from Old Court Road, where 96 year old Mrs. Ruth Dorsey, an African American who spent all of her life in the area, recalls her grandmother saying to her as a young girl not to go to the bridge because when she was young, runaway slaves would hide under the bridge until darkness came. Louis to make the presentation (Note: Mrs. Dorsey passed this story on in an interview Louis had with her several years ago in preparation for a book that he desires to write about the history of historic Church Lane area.)
10th stop: The home of Augustus Walley.
Congressional Medal of Honor winner Augustus Walley
To Reisterstown in the historic African American community of Bond Avenue, and to Main Street and Cockeys Mill Road to view the historic plaque placed by the state to honor Augustus Walley. Louis will make the presentation. (Note: Louis will take the group down Bond Avenue to the burial grounds of St. Luke's United Methodist Church where Augustus Walley is laid to rest. Augustus Walley, a former slave from the area joined the 10th Calvary (famed Buffalo Soldiers) after slavery ended and was sent to the Western Frontier. There, in the 1890s, Augustus Walley earned the highest award the government could bestow on its soldiers - The Congressional Medal of Honor. Louis will then take the group to the corners of Cockeys Mill Road and Main Avenue where the State of Maryland honored Augustus Walley by placing a commorative plaque of his accomplishments.)
Late 1800's photograph of members of the 10th Cavalry (Buffalo Soldiers).
Augustus Walley (top row, 2nd from right, with the bandana around his neck), a former
slave from Bond Avenue in Reisterstown, MD, won the Congressional Medal of Honor.
11th stop: Group will proceed up Hanover Pike to the town of Boring, proceeding on to "Piney Grove," a historical African American church. Here Louis will present information on the church, the original one-room school house still standing and the cemetery. If time permits, Louis will take the group to "Fry Road" where the family passed down stories on how Anna Louisa Thompson Fry and her husband, Augustus Fry would hide runaway slaves in their barn until they were moved by the under ground railroad in the darkness of the nights, and how their family feared for their lives if they were ever caught. The Fry family still owns 50 or so acres in the area.
Enroute back to Catonsville from whatever stop the group is at when they decide to cease the tour, Louis will take the group on a non-stop tour through the historic Winters Lane area, noting significant historical sights such as: Harristown, the area where the Greenwood Electric Park was located, the one-room school building that is still in tact, Grace AME Church, the oldest African American Church in the community, and other points of interest.
This will conclude the tour; Louis will take the group to the Howard Johnson Motel on the corner of US Route 40 and Ingleside Avenue where, hopefully, Essie Garrett and her group will get a good night's sleep before taking off on the next leg of their trip to Timonium, Maryland.
Louis Diggs, on the left, was Essie's guide to the Catonsville Area.
Matthew Johnson, on the right, will escort Essie in Havre de Grace.
CATONSVILLE GALLERY
Essie and Louis by a plaque honoring Augustus Walley. |
Essie at the Cowdensville AME Church (built late 1800's) in Cowdensville, Arbutus, Maryland. |
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Essie with Lenwood Johnson at the Emmarts United Methodist Church in Woodlawn, Maryland (built 1850). It was said that slaves on the underground railroad were hidden in the church belfry. |
Left to right: Louis Diggs, Gwinnie Griffin (Great Great Great Great Grandniece of Benjamin Banneker); Essie Garrett, and Frederic Douglass, the Great Grandson of Frederic Douglass. This group was at the reception for Essie at the new Benjamin Banneker Museum and Center in Catonsville, Maryland. |
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August 4, 1998:
"We're in a one room school house. It was 29 miles from Severna Park, and we've seen
so much here, the people are Wonderful. Slept under the stars, it was really clear.
Only got one mosquito bite.
Catonsville Times interviewed us - had lunch at Old Country Buffet: potatoes, beets,
and salad."
Essie said when she was little she always wanted to be a nun,
but they told her Black people were not allowed. Louis took
the group to a Black nunnery in Catonsville- the first Black
nunnery in existence, with missions around the world:
The Oblate Sisters of Providence. They were having a funeral,
so the group is going back later today to get blessed.
Message from Louis Diggs:
The purpose of this message is to seek support for a
young lady who is running 500 miles to retrace a segment of
the underground railroad, the secret network that helped
thousands of fugitive slaves escape to free states and
Canada.
This young lady is ultramarathon runner Essie Garrett of Denver, Colorado. She started her run on August 1st in Bucktown, Maryland, birthplace of the famous abolitionist and railroad conductor, Harriet Tubman. I had the pleasure of hosting her in Catonsville on day four of her run.
Essie is making this run to bring awareness of the efforts of Harriet Tubman, and providing a wonderful learning opportunity for the children of her school district in Denver, via her web site and videos being produced. Her run is being sponsored by several businesses in the Denver area, and she is earning much needed funds for charitable organizations.
What Essie needs very badly is for people from the communities that she will be running through to give her some support, like taking her and her entourage (2 other people) to places of interest in the African American communities, and if there are suspected undereground railroad "safehouses," to show them to her. When she arrived in Catonsville yesterday, I already had 11 suspected safehouses and other places of interest to show her, and it took all day. I was fortunate to secure dinner for her group (didn't realize how easy it was to get businesses to support such an event), secured rooms at the Howard Johnson's at not cost to them, and even contacted my local newspaper editor who had a reporter and photographer accompany us on most of the trip.
There is a beautiful web page for Essie's Run - please set your URL to essierun.org. Once you see her page, that she has updated after every stop, you will then appreciate what this remarkable woman is doing.
She needs people to help her at the following communities:
Maryland Line on August 7
York, PA on August 8
Harrisburg, PA on August 9
Selinsgrove, PA on August 10
Williamsport, PA on August 11
Wellsboro, PA on August 12
Lawrenceville, PA on August 13
Avoca, NY on August 14
Dansville, NY on August 15
Pavilion, NY on August 16
Batavia, NY on August 17
Clarence, NY on August 18
Niagara Falls, NY on August 19
Her final stop will be at St. Catharines, Ontario,
Canada on August 20
If you live in any of these communities and can help Essie by showing her around the community, please give her a call at 303-810-1493. This is a mobile phone in the motor home she is traveling in - there is no charge for the call, and please check her web site out: essierun.org.
Louis S. Diggs
Catonsville, Maryland
Gravestones |
St. Luke's United Methodist Church of Former Slaves, in Reistertown, Maryland. Augustus Walley went to this church. |
The church and Buffalo Soldiers cemetery, resting place of Augustus Walley. |
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Essie and friends |
Monroe at the Benjamin Banneker Museum |
Essie is interviewed in the woods, by Sun Country News |
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Monroe |
Mapping the route |
Nicholas Smith's Grave |
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Essie at the Buffalo Soldier Plaque |
At The Oblate Sisters of Providence |
Essie and one of the Sisters |
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Back to Severna Park --- Ahead to Havre de Grace
