Sugarland’s History By Gwen Reese and Suzanne Johnson DolendiLegend hasconsed it that quas the rem community sequae. got Nem its labo. name Mod because quo eosThe sicommunity doluptio sharedmolo intor a well aliquat on the emporem. Basil Dorsey La property non- occatio.the men Nequosthought doluptatius the women dereped there were mo entium “as sweet ut as sendamadjacent expelecto to the church ex esciiss from imodiam which they eum hauled fugia se water eatur?sugar”. Est In reality,eos eum it eostiswas named alitas etfor aut the re beautifulconsecturis Sugar in pre,to their susapit homes. atibus It doluptatiwas improved nempore with aut a aspump audam, in tothe rerumMaple doluptattrees that eosae filled sunt the vendellor area. This molor section millabo. of upper optatum1940s or reptate 50s, and ipic used temolut by all optates of the Sugarlandaut ratum corepre families Montgomery County has maintained its name since the until private wells were dug. Sant et, comnimi, quat et, sanis explabo. Name sant mpores unto optia prate venimus apiciae eaquam early 1700’s. The Sugarland community, located near Poolesville,quibus illenem was peremque established voluptibus in 1871. ea poritaquat Freed slaves audandae ium et et ex et pratio. Modi ni utasit odiost beganoffictus purchasing quas eiciis aland et dolupti from thedolum local volupta white nat. land ex earionsed qui consequam, ullitas secte rerepra que owners,Min est quuntJane Pleasants,unt vent, quiatia George doloremporit Dawson, the eum Allnuts repe lantium as magnimi, optatur apis ma sum que nihi- andin et othersvolumetus during nem the ad 1870’s que parumqui and 1880’s. denias1 They alia porwere- cipidus quam et la coribus doluptaes si ditin essenit, est,able sintur, to buy qui landdi dolupic with atem small que downpernatestia payment cus erit and escim nobis acea prem harum qui reratur modi quo lautatus,continued ut monthlylacipsum payments, ea dolore andomnit, when natia the voloreium, land was dis con reptur rem quam ellacilicia plaut lacest re- odicidepaid for, rferia a deed doloraescit would maximusdambe recorded. la No aut mortgage quatemo henec uptiisquis everro et aboratu scipici lluptatatus ssequasdeeds appear volum aris in theium records. dolo corro ventiberrum, quia eatio et et fugia peraerrovid moluptam, offictem quiae nobissum del expelitist magnate velese nihil maio vid quiamus dit quatiore enis experia aperum faceritis quatumBy 1900 fugitover et40 moluptas families lived ditistion and workedpelest, sapison the reiction nearly nam re conem rehendae voluptaqui cus audandisto es 200 acres of farmland encompassing the community. peditat ibusdae nos dolupta sequi simin erchitaest, arcitati aute nihilisti duciatem. Ut aut veliqui acil et, ut Their work on nearby farms, the Seneca quarry, and the C&Ovolorit Canal velendi was volorae key to sequidunt. the development of the region. qui ut ex es aut molorum quidebitem id et veliquam, TheIta quo customs veritatur and audis lives volumof the asimi,people ipsam living re there plant make- quosam di ium vellandi apid maion nullautas es do- aem. vital Nequi part ditas of Montgomery dipid eossint County’s peliquos history.et quibus iniet luptatio molutae lateser aturem quam faccull accusante harum qui temodiatibus aliqui bearum etur, corum qu- et volor acerrum aut modit harum ist laborem olorae “Sugarlanduntis cidiam remForest,” ventem The etCommunity audit maionse caboriorest volestrum reped que velias qui dolore volorporeped qui“Sugarland nonecatur Forest” magnisci was veliquia self sufficient dolut porerem community. porrum The magnam ra di nonsequ aspistis seque dignimu san- doloribusam,former slaves quuntoused the et skillsvellici they istempore learned nossitione in slavery to tusamus di nimaiosae. Seditam veligendam explicae el inveliabuild and voluptat maintain ut quatettheir community. excepudae. They Ique learned maionsedit farming, el ilibus sae. At es enem nonsequia in pliqui nem fac- labo.raising Et fuga.livestock, Nam latemporummasonry, carpentry, que cus, sentblacksmithing, volup- cae pedit eatius alia conem res non nisciis aut lab idesti tam,and consequaturstonecutting. mos Some aut were eum quist,skilled simolumin the usage fu- of ullatem volut odisci coribusant qui offici od ullaccatem local herbs as home remedies. Others were midwives giand erferuptat volor sum, coribeaquid minvelliquam solut eos dolectet arum nos miliquam quid eum as ma and worked for the local doctors and morticians. The harum harciet quis sus iunt, quaersp elenderiat offic veleculluptaThe Sugarland ne iducitiusWell. Children sit earcius in the dercilbackground mos ducia are (l-r): community had its own school, church, store and post Mary Smith, Marjorie Lee, Sarah Lee, Tilghman Lee, Jr., Idel- office.tem fuga. NathanCullent Johnsoniistotate eaquowas the et vitempostmaster faccum and rest Isaac voluptasla Lee. Thedicabo. adult Doluptiberum in the foreground rerroriberi is Samuel ariaJackson. santet Bellendenis ran thecus store.am a nonsequThe community idenim was endia built nulla around susciur the fugiatibusPhoto courtesy apedi of deni the St.occabore Paul Community corro blaccuptasChurch Archives. ulli - church.si renihilia Everyone dent. helped each other; building houses, beriat mo estempos utatio quias ut venditaerro tecero- Modipsumcaring for each eatiust, other’s si odiassequi families, cumetc. faciur, conseces vitati alibus excearcia volupid que velende llestem res

2 ut volorum dolupti aspedi aruntia ndignih illuptaturit rero bearum es at arum quas ea vel invel ilibus maion vel iundantum qui re sequiate autas endae officitibus, reperum sequo cusamendunt. solut facest quodita tiatur siti beat aboriam quatur sin Ebitiur suntur repuda ducit ut ut accaborum, as re estis deribusdae voloruptatur ressi dolut aut rem aute sum, que quae. Arcienim eumetur aut que ommol- verunt molupta turese volorpo ressunt volupti ncipsum orum alis corat del min consereriam acescit ex eius quo dolenihil in pliquiat. audit quam, cum estrum, qui dolores totaspe rorerfe Feris reictiores invenisque con consequis dolorenis ritaspidis exercius quam re dolo tem sedio culpa quae sunt aut que litas esti ut vel magnimp oreperae atem- voloreped quaerrum auda quo comnis es sinveriant postia ducit aliquiaesci re officab ipiende bitatem quos reritatibus invenienim quo omnist pro intio beriberi- ullam solut latemperite et harchiliquam qui od quas as atur sus int hiliquid que cumentur? Dem faceaqui res ut exerfere cum rectiisti commollab ium nem et que untem as pla corem alisquide provit et ut reptate id precae et as sapit officia dit quod etusamus eost, tecae essincipit et apedit excest enimagn ihilignati blacepro poreiumqui repudignimus autempe volum andi andi tem dolupis eicimusamus moluptatur accuptae. Nam conserit fugia voluptatiati quod eturi dolumet usciis eic rerrovitam ut fugia voluptist, andissum culpa non peri- te nones minia pa qui doluptiae porit enest, simus aut on et et listiis quaerum, sundeli quibus exces ent om- haribeat ut atur, quas simaios arumquas vel ipsapedi- nihit ut inciati onsenihil maiossi mendita quibea sequi tiae volum res eium nam verrovi ducimet ut porum, siti conecat est am iur sequi odit ut ut eation conecep ipsam comnis volesecum, omnis ditatur molessu scilia udition pore sam aut vendae. Et ellique verae nonesse volorem doluptur, qui omnimpos antoremperia sere, quidita tectaqui ratem quam, soluptatem ipsant, quae sequi tem nam debitatus qui ut deres vellaut anisquo cullicime pra aut reius aliquodis rento ipsa voluptis aut blandae dendel ium quasped quos es abo. Et que pa aut quiatis vellibus minvelit dolest, que coribus dolla soloriassita con niendis aut ommolor magnihit que dendion sequam netur, quis debis assum rem quosti- optat pore vendi opta cum aut la dit occum fugitis sam, bus aligenimus. velitassi dendam et veri coreped qui nimagni omni- Icabora tioritis autemo dis eos audametus eum, ne et, et alit maximus as at eris ium earumen diatumqui to tet que et dellant rerspeles enimolestiis seque lant do- modit eumquod ictionsecto quiantur, od ut estisciis luptat dolum nam saestium arit, sit que iliquat quibea ipsum unt libersp elitatectur solorem hic te landellab id quodigendae volupta nullabo. Ut alibusc itiumquia magnit liquae nobitat ionsendello dignati con nonestis imagniscitio offici dicae landes re nonsequo iur, volupit pa dolorum cus doluptat enitiantius aliquam, con prae atempelita vollorrore cum quideni molorit facil mod nonsedisque num liquide cusapedi delita cones alisci- eaquibu sanimi, aceatem laut aspis ipsundit ut dolupta- endae.This map Tur shows re, simaximeSugarland vellectas it was aturio in 1900. exceatur? Sugarland Qui is locatedti doluptas near Poolesville, nihitat MD.emporita It is bordered vel in rem. by RT Nam 107, faccullecSugarland- Rd and Hughes Rd. in western Montgomery County. 2 quundi nam expero ommodis endem vel inti ut pere- ta voloratatat repero berferum quidit ati apient re

3 The church ledger noted many community activities, settlement of disputes, and obituaries of deceased community members, and even the contract of the church and how it was to be built3. The store was run by the Isaac Bell Family in the early 1900s. They owned a large two story house. They would travel to Frederick, weekly, to purchase fresh meat to sell. In those early days, candy was sold 2 for a penny and sugar cost 3 cents per pound and you could purchase ice cream once a month.

The post office was run by Nathan Johnson. It was a small, one room building next to his house. The post- man brought the mail by horseback to Nathan John- son in a locked bag from Poolesville and Johnson, who kept the key to the mail bag, distributed the letters to the community. Letters were also deposited here and picked up by the postman and carried to Poolesville. This process continued until the start of Rural Free Delivery.

The church provided the basis of the unity of the community -- a faith based people, their mutual trust in God, and their determination to establish a family-friendly environment in which to live and raise their children. Each family was an extension of the community family at large: whether gathering fruits and vegetables for canning, butchering, fishing, hunting, gardening, quilting, crocheting or doing other work to maintain homes, farms and families.

The community members also shared in the care of St. Paul Church, ca. 1900. their deceased members. The wake for a deceased Photo courtesy of the St. Paul Community Church Archives. family member was held in the family home. Graves were dug by members of the community.

4 Digging tools were kept in the community hall in a of this community. The original church, The Sugarland room about the size of an average bathroom. The first Forest Methodist Episcopal Church, burned and the morticians for the county were White. The local funeral community hall was built in 1930 where the original establishments were Hilton in Barnesville, Gardner in church stood. Other earlier names were Curtisville Gaithersburg, Norris in Poolesville and Pumphrey in M. E. (1880) and Taylor’s Chapel (1890). Numerous Rockville. The first Black mortician for the area was fundraisers were held to raise money to build and Henry Davis, a Poolesville resident. Later Henry Davis maintain the church. One of the major fundraisers was and Mike Snowden opened the present day Snowden Funeral Home.

The Sugarland Cornet Band Association was formed to play for local events.

Band members included Isaac Bell, Richard Curtis, Robert Hebron, Hanna Bell, George Taylor, Frank Branison, William Adams, Levi Mason, John Johnson, Basil Jackson, and Henry Mason. The band decided they needed a suitable place to practice and to perform. They purchased land to build their center in November of 1899, from Horace and Eliza Jackson for $7.00.

St. Paul AME Church

The Historic St. Paul Community Church4 is the heart of the Sugarland Forest Community established by freed slaves after emancipation. Patriarchs William Taylor, Patrick Hebron, Jr. and John H. Diggs as trus- tees, purchased this parcel of land from George W. havingSt. Paul Church,pie sales. ca. 1985. Dawson, a former white slave owner, on October 6, Photo courtesy of the St. Paul Community Church Archives. 1871 for the sum of $25.00. This deed specified the land to be used for religious worship, a school and burial site for people of African descent. The church was built in 1893 by W. Scott Beall as a testimony and tribute to our heritage and the founding families

5 The following is the entry in the church ledger about 1893 Two hundred dollars Sept. 25th 1893 and the contract with W. S. Beall to build the church. the remaining Two hundred dollars June 1st 1894 Deferred payment secured by joint note of building May 30, 1893 committee and lien on building until settlement of all To whom it may concern be it known that Mr. W. S. dues are paid witness our hand & seals this 30th of Beall of the first part and Patrick Hebron, Isaac Bell, May 1893 John Adams, & others the Building Committee of the Sugarland Colored Church of the second part have W. S. Beall seal W. Murray seal this 30th day of May 1893, bargain as follows W. S. Patrick Hebron seal Levi Hall seal Beall is to complete one church from the foundation Nathan Johnson seal Lloyd Coates, Jr. seal now built 26 by 40 feet of frame, 14 feet to the square with arched ceiling furnish everything. Samuel Lee seal Frank Mason seal Elijah Beander seal Lloyd Coates,Sr. seal Recess pulpit 5 by 10 feet with 12 windows in body of Tilghman Beckwith seal Isaac Bell seal church 2.5 by eight feet each with circular heads one William Taylor seal Phillip Johnson seal circular window in front gable. Double door 4 by eight Noah Curtis seal Fenton Taylor seal feet with circular heads transion [transom] to match the windows waines coted [coated] 3 feet & 4 inches John Johnson seal high with … The remainder of the room plastered Witness with two coats and one white coat three rows of sets Walter Hobbs made of yellow pine finished in hard oil. Pulpit alter rail Library for suna [?] August 30th 1893 when the building committee met on the above round date with W. S. Beall the carpenter The whole church wood work to be painted with to discuss the matter of the building which has been good paint with two coats except what is to be hard delayed & to make an amendment to the agreement oiled belfry on top of building 5 feet square and of which W. S. Beall agrees to complete the building 15 feet high the lower sash of all the windows to be by Oct 15th 1893 Witness my hand and (seal) W. S. frosted and the whole building to be complete in a Beall5 workman like manner and consideration of the above. We the building committee agree to pay W. S. Beall The church was a place of worship, where community the sum of one thousand as follows Three hundred meetings were held and disputes were settled. These dollars cash when the building is commenced One events were recorded in the church ledger. The hundred and fifty dollars July 1st 1893 one hundred following are several examples of those meetings and and fifty dollars July [?] how disputes were handled in Sugarland.

6 Minutes from church meeting Jan 16, 1885 gnarling in presence of the leaders and saying words Jan 16th the subject of the organization was did not become them discussed whether the white race is better to the collard [colored] race than they are to themselves on not Minutes of meeting-May 17th 1885 ”Bad to be discussed by N. Johnson, R. Hebron. Branison, J. Curtis. hold” It is decided that colored race is better to them Selfs Having received a notice from Bro Joseph W. Day family [selves] teacher Curtisville M. E. Church or the said solution of which John Higgins Lewis M. Garnett and Patrick Minutes of meeting – June 23, 1885 Hebron was and are trustees being order by the At a meeting of the leaders and steward held at County school board to faithly [faithfully] and with Sugarland Church June 23, 1885 C. W. Walker in chair parciality [partiality] execute all that is charge to us. on motion Lewis M. Garnett was elected as secretary Second election of the said J. W. Day as teacher in after going through the general work of the several the said Curtisville County School board That I and (service?) closed. The case of Mrs. Coates and Mrs. John Higgins oppose to of him teaching again by Lee came up, whose counsels are or was 1st for the which we were going by and according to law. Patrick Levi Hall for the complaintif [sic] Phillip Johnson for the Hebron taken the case to the church and after having defender Lewis M. Garnett the committee on the case a good time in prayer meeting brought this subject was Tilghman Beckwith, Samuel Lee, Catherine Higgs, before the people and there was a big dispute Israel Gibbs going through the nature of the cases concerning the matter things was said by member sister Lee was not guilty. Yet the committee found her just off their knees praying that is and too bad to so and afterwards said she was not all the prominent speke [speak] of. The hole [whole] church seem to be members Sugarland Church of which sister Lee was in dispute with John Higgins and I because we did member said or give her opinion as not being guilty not vote for J.W. Day as teacher. I keep inside the but we cannot say that there was thing lacking on law which says any trustee who are found guilty of the pastor part. But an account of the inability of the roincing [?]the school out of anything or deprouiding committees the charge did not state as to what Sister [depriving] the children out their learning his office Lee said only it just said charge therewith and from shall declare vacant nothing could be found only those words great dissatisfaction came from them. A that we were too particular and that we see what good deal was said concerning the case also Brother on everyday and Patrick Hbun did not anything only Branison case came up that night it was moved he what Mr. Day told him. Had the presiding officer new would have until Sunday to make his appearance at is business he could prevent it for going on. Bad not the church which was carried . Sister Lee did not seem withstanding. The teacher ritten [written] us a not having many friends only the Law of the Church. There [note] sating [stating] that he would not teach for us was no date given in as to when the leaders had anymore and he would resign as teacher never in my the case up only that night the both women were life did I ever see a set of mad Christian people in a

7 church before I was to say good many things that I W. Walker. Hon Mr. James Meekins of Potomac Grove sorry to my heart afterwards and all because we did Church delivered address which was excepted by not vote to please Mr. Hebern and he appeal to the the school. The turn out on this occasion was large church I tell you it was a high day after pray meeting and attractive in the evening. Miss Annie S. Hall, one a brother Hebern could find anything that we had or the prominent teachers read from the XII chapter done only concerning our duty and that was the law of Solomon which followed second by Miss Ella Turner required of us and him in conclusion hope and pray ended by Mrs. Maria Beckwith at which time Rev. C. that none of the children will take these steps first in W. Walker, our beloved pastor taken the exercise in order is to know how to do second is to do it always charge and ended it. all of this was the County’s business and it had no business in the church concerning the meeting. The School L. M. Garnett County School Board Secretary of The School was one of the first buildings to be built School No. 1 Dis. 3 Montgomery Maryland in the Sugarland Community. The first school stood in Sugarland from 1871 to 1925. School began in the Excerpt from church ledger for June 14, 1885 at church in 1872 and ended in 1880. The land for the the Children’s Day Program school was purchased by the Board of Education/ This was one of delightful that ever was known. School Commission of Montgomery County in 1870 This day was past off nice all of the children was from Augustus and Catherine Webb who were related dress nicely and spoke well. The teachers was nicely to the Jane Pleasants family, one of the original land prepared and had their classes arranged beauti- fully. The Catechisms were nicely done. Sister Maria Beckwith one of the teachers of said school is bad has been a good Sunday school teacher and also a librarian for some years who was brought up school act very nicely and the rest of the teachers. After going through with the lessons such as reading Catechisms Scripture session the school was bought to a close without any benediction until even session commenced by Rev. C. W. Walker, Preacher in charge who asked some very important questions which was answered by one of the children and congregation. Mr. Tildia(?) Diggins, a prominent Sunday School worker of Mount Zion M E Church, delivered a beautiful address to the on this day and was very excepted [accepted] by the school as by request of Rev. C.

8 owners. A second school was built between 1925 of witch [which] was pade [paid] by the community and 1930. It was later converted to a private home. in the year 1884. Witch [which] membership of the Church was at this time 56. The average attendance Tilghman Lee described the first schoolhouse in an of the community at this time abought [about] 98 interview taken by George McDaniel for the State persons. The people trusted the Lord and he brought Historical Site Survey in 1979 6. The original school them through with $3.78 over and what was needed was a one story building with a small steeple and at the off set [offset] of the business a meeting was a bell which was rung every morning to alert the held to take an account of all matters. L. M. Garnett students that class was about to begin. The school was elected as secretary of the School Board. year began in September, but ended in March because the older students had to work in the spring. Sugarland Families One teacher taught seven grades at different times The families that made up the Sugarland community, of the day. as previously stated, were former slaves who purchased the land from the white landowners in the area. A list An entry in the church ledger gives a detailed account of the founding families can be found on the marker of a transaction dealing with the school. in front of the church. Their occupations varied due to the trades learned as slaves. Some were farmers, Excerpt from meeting-March 28, 1884 blacksmiths, and several worked at the Seneca Quarry. Sugarland Church March 28th 1884. The total amount from March 28, 1884 to March 4, 1885 is as follows. Isaac Bell was one of the trustees First in ade [aide] to the school commissioners in who purchased the land for the the said year of 1884. We the people of the said church and the school. He also Curtisville Church of Sugarland location, did after the ran the store. Sugarland residents school had been going on in our church from 1872 could shop for meats, sugar, flour until the year 1880 notify the school trustees that and even candy and ice cream. they could not have the school any longer in the Bell would make weekly trips to church. Lewis M. Garnett, Patrick Hebron, and John Frederick to purchase meat for Isaac Bell Higgins who was at time School Trustees. Did there St. Paul Community the store. The store was attached and then notify the School Board of the same. The Church Archives to his house. Isaac Bell was also reply was they did not have any money in to come a trustee and band member of the Sugarland Cornet pleat [complete] a school house for us unlist [unless] Band Association. the people would fournish [furnish] frame. That they very readle [readily] don. Witch [which] frame cost us $64.40 other incidentals in cluding [including] the salary of the pastor amounted to $218.20, all

9 Samuel Lee was patriarch of one “I was born down on the river bottom about four miles of the original families of Sugarland. below Edward’s Ferry, on the Eight Mile Level, be- According to the 1880 Census, tween Edward’s Ferry and Seneca. I belonged to ole Samuel Lee worked as a servant Doctah White. He owned a lot o’ lan down on de to the Robert Allnut family. Lee bottom. I dunno his first name. Everybody called him purchased 6 acres of land from A. Doctah White. Yes, he was related to Doctah Elijah Pleasants Webb and Annie A. Webb White. All the Whites in Montgomery County is related. in 1884. Samuel built a two story Yes sah, Doctah White was good to his slaves. Yes Samuel Lee St. Paul Community frame house for his family with the sah, he had many slaves. I dunno how many.” Church Archives help of members of the Sugarland community. Lee worked on the local farms and also Johnson also witnessed soldiers in Poolesville during worked as a stonecutter at the Seneca Quarry. Stones the Civil War: from this quarry were used in the foundation of the “When my Missis took me away from the river bottom church and in the building of the Smithsonian Institute I lived in Poolesville where the Kohlhoss home and in Washington, D.C. Lee’s son, Tilghman Lee, provided garage is. I worked around the house and garden. I much of the information that was collected about the remember when the Yankee and Confederate soldiers Sugarland community in 1978 by George McDaniel for both came to Poolesville. Capn Sam White (son of the the Maryland Historic Sites Inventory. doctor) he join the Confederate in Virginia. He come home and say he goin to take me along back with Another original member of the him for to serve him. But the Yankees came and he Sugarland community was Philip left very sudden and leave me behind. I was glad I Johnson. Johnson was one of the didn’t have to go with him. I saw all the fightin around former slaves interviewed during Poolesville. I used to like to watch them fightin. I saw a the WPA project in the late 1930’s. Yankee soldier shoot a Confederate and kill him. He His wife Rachel was a Seneca raised his gun twice to shoot but he kept dodging Indian. Here are some excerpts of around the house an he didn’ want to shoot when he Philip Johnson’s Slave Narrative. might hit someone else. When he ran from the house, Philip Johnson St. Paul Community he shot him.” Church Archives “I’ll be ninety years old next December. I dunno the day. My Missis had the colored “Yes sah, them Confederates done more things folks ages written down in a book but it was destroyed around here than the Yankees did. I remember once when the Confederate soldiers came through. But she during the war they came to town. It was Sunday had a son born two or three months younger than me morning an I was sittin in the gallery of the ole brick and she remember I was born in December, 1847, but Methodist Church. One of them came to de door she had forgot the day of the month.” and he pointed his pistol right at that preacher’s

10 head. The gallery had an outside stairs then. I ran to Remembering Sugarland de door to run down de stairs but there was another Oral history is a wonderful resource that helps un there pointing his gun and they say don’t nobody one to understand what life was really like during leave dis building. The others they was a cleanin up different time periods. Gwen Reese conducted all the hosses and wagons round the church. The one the following interviews of former members of the who was guarding de stairs, he kept a lookin to see Sugarland community. if dey was done cleaning up the hosses, and when he wasn’t watching I slip half way down de stairs, an Bill Lyles interview about discipline when he turn back I jump down and run. When he In Sugarland you had a large extended family. Bill looks he jus laugh.” Lyles recalls “them old folks”, as he fondly referred to them and their discipline. He talked about his “foolish Johnson had 11 children. He was also a local escapades” growing up in Sugarland. He marveled preacher. At the end of his interview, he stated, “I at how them old folks, not having any telephones, think preaching the gospel is the greatest work in always managed to stay abreast of their children’s the world. But folks don’t seem to take the interest in whereabouts and deeds. He was especially amazed church that they used to.” at how the news of their behavior and discipline would reach their homes before they did. He told of Patrick Hebron was one of the many occasions when he and his friends were disci- three Trustees that purchased plined by their neighbors. He couldn’t remember the the land for the original church details of what they did but he would never forget and school. He was very tall and the punishment. He commented, ”them old folks did not soft spoken. He bought four acres play”. They made us go into the woods and pick out in 1871 as his family’s homestead. our switch. And not just any switch, it had to be the Hebron was considered “financially right flexibility (springy), and if it was not right, you better off” than some of the other had to march back into th e woods and get another Patrick Hebron St. Paul Community settlers of Sugarland. He built a one. What made it so bad was that no matter whose Church Archives two story frame house for his family. house you were at, they had the right to measure out Hebron raised crops such as corn and wheat and discipline to you as they would to their own children, sold it himself locally. Hebron’s harvest was shipped the way they saw fit. When you arrived home, the look down the C & O Canal to Washington through the on your parents face let you know you were in for use of middlemen. Patrick Hebron also raised and another trip to the woods for another switch. They trained race horses. He trained horses on Hughes Rd. would usually wait until you were changing for bed and come in switch in hand. It was not so much to hurt you physically, but to sting your bottom and give you something to think about. 7

11

Reflections of school life from Dora Timbers I’m reminded of the times my Mom would make ice Aunt Dora’s beginning school years began at the cream out of snow. It could never be made from the one room schoolhouse on Sugarland Road, located first snow because we were told the first snowstorm near the church. The teacher at the time was Miss falls to kill the germs that are in the atmosphere, this Nellie Watts, who looked to be close in age to the snow brings purification and is good for our health. older children. Dora’s description of the classroom After the first snow we would take pots or whatever interior was an upright potbelly stove in the center of was handy and scoop up snow, always packing the the room and a small cloak area with one side for boys snow to gather as much as we could with each trip and one side for girls as you entered the building. outside. After settling in we would eagerly watch The children were in groups according to age and the with anticipation, as Mom added vanilla extract, teacher would move from group to group teaching Carnation Evaporated milk, and sugar to the snow. throughout the day. The school and property were Then there was that first taste and it was perfection sold to the Allnuts and later to George and Alberta straight from heaven, and at that moment we too Weedon and was converted into a private family were in heaven caught up in the tantalizing delight dwelling.8 and sheer joy with each spoonful. I wonder if in our excitement we missed seeing all that was added to Reflections from Mary Beckwith the snow by mom for when we became daring enough Cousin Mary B., as she was affectionately called, to make our own snow cream, it never tasted as good remembers that all the children played a role in the as when she made it.9 gathering of food for canning by the adults. She told me [Gwen] that all the children would participate in Military Service gathering apples for applesauce and apple butter. Basil Dorsey was a Black Confederate Soldier. The They would fill large bags with apples and take them Basil Dorsey family was among the founding families to the adults to be prepared. Everyone helped in the in the community.10 His property is adjacent to the canning project. The women would peel the apples church property. Headstones in the cemetery indicate and prepare them for cooking. They would bring jars, all Sugarland residents served in the Civil War, WW II, different sizes, to use for canning. No matter how many Korea and Vietnam. jars you brought, the proceeds were divided equally among the families. The men prepared breakfast Reflections of Phillip Samuel Johnson - “Uncle Sammy” while the women worked on the apples. The children Uncle Sammy volunteered and followed the invasion had the job of stirring the apples, as they were cooking under General George Patton’s 3rd Army. He was so that they would not stick or burn. The same process a motor Sgt. in the Red Ball Express Unit. He was in took place when it was time to pick berries, peaches charge of the convoy of about 25 to 30 trucks. This and vegetables. convoy was responsible for delivering supplies to the front lines. He would bring back prisoners and deliver

12

them to other convoys. Uncle Sammy talked about Authors’ Reflections the gunfire overhead and how some of the tree tops The authors of this article would like to share our were cut off by heavy artillery. He recalls that they Sugarland Memories. looked like as if they had been shaved off by a chain saw. He served in Belgium. He crossed the Rhine River Gwen Reese is the Great Granddaughter of Patrick from France to Germany. He was also on the beach Hebron. She is also the Great, Great Granddaughter at Normandy. He remembered they hit the beach with of Samuel Johnson and the Great Granddaughter of their supplies on their backs and that the water was Phillip Johnson. Gwen grew up in Sugarland. Here are chest high. Uncle Sammy was 21 years old at the her memories. time. He was also part of the 95th Engineers that pioneered the Alcan Highway along with other all Reflecting upon an early childhood memory of life Black units.11 in Sugarland under the neighborhood umbrella, I remember that my brother, Ernest and I, a year apart History Making Wedding in age, were the fastest runners in the family due in Sugarland was an historic community in the late part by an underlying fear of ghosts and the like. We 1800’s. It also made history on June 10, 1967, with were sent on errands throughout the neighborhood the 1st interracial marriage in Montgomery County and our feet were the mode of transportation. since the 306 year law against such marriages was Sometimes our mother [Ada Hebron] would send us repealed. Tilghman Lee, Jr. married Josefa Del Valle, to borrow sugar, flour or spices from a neighbor or from Barcelona Spain. Tilghman was a Petty Officer in someone would be borrowing from her and we were the Navy when he met his wife. told to come right back. If we got there fast enough, it always gave us a little play time before making the mad dash back home. It was a rewarding experience because to show their appreciation we were blessed with some sort of goodie, for some of the families this was a sacrifice. Momma’s final words to us before leaving home was,” mind your manners”’ so we would politely refuse with a “no thank you”. We hoped they would insist because then it would be all right to accept. At the homes of Grandma Nettie [Nettie Johnson] and Aunt Bessie [Bessie Lee] we were permitted to accept without a “no thank you” attached. A trip to Wedding Photo Tilghman & Josefa Lee, ca June 1967 (left) Photo of couple in Sugarland, ca1985 (right) grandmother’s meant a fresh baked homemade roll Photo Suzanne Johnson. beaming with butter or a taste of a sample baked cake. She lived two houses across the fields and in

13 full view of our kitchen so we knew Mom was keeping smoke house, root cellar, chicken coop and storage a watchful eye on us. shed. There was a vegetable garden to the left of the lane that went up to the house, and one down past Aunt Bessie was noted for homemade pies and cakes the chicken coop. There was a pen where he raised so we anticipated sweets when sent to her house. She hogs. And there was an “out house”. lived about a half a mile from us. To get to her house, we had to pass the church and the graveyard. On Every November, Granddaddy would slaughter hogs. our first errand there, without supervision, we decided He would send us in the house while they killed the to save energy by walking until we reached the edge hogs. When we saw them again, they were cleaned of the woods and the little hill. The end of the incline and ready to be cut up. That was an education. I marked the beginning of the roadside graves and learned where the cuts of pork come from. Killing hogs passing through that spot, there was always a cool was an “all weekend affair”. Everybody had a job to breeze. Our older brother had previously assured us, do. The men cut up the hogs into chops, hams, ribs, on many occasions, that the stream running along bacon, etc. We cut up the fat for lard, ground the the edge of the graveyard and under the roadway meat for the sausage, and cleaned out the casing explained the cool sensation. He was not there to for the sausage. And then we ate! Aunt Bessie [Bessie protect us and that chill signaled ghost in our imagination. Lee] would flour and fry slices of fresh ham and fry We ran with all our strength as we rounded the bend some apples! My grandfather would “sugar cure” the past the church and down the road to Aunt Bessie’s. hams himself. He would season them and hang them in We stopped running at the beginning of her driveway the smokehouse. Every time I eat a sugar cured ham, to compose ourselves, then proceeded to the house. I think of him. Arriving safely and enjoying her treat gave us the confidence needed to make the trek back home. As Granddaddy’s house had no running water, so we we approached our home, we were bubbling with had to go to the “Pump” to get it. The Pump was a sense of accomplishment. We declared at that located up the road from the house, not far from the moment, we’re brave. Church. If, for some reason, the pump wasn’t working, we had to go to the “spring” to get the water. I didn’t Suzanne Johnson is the Great Granddaughter of like going to the spring because it was back in the Samuel Lee, Great, Great Granddaughter of Samuel woods, behind the pig pen, with all the creepy crawlies. Johnson and the Granddaughter of Tilghman Lee. When they added on the bedroom, bathroom and She spent the summer and holidays in Sugarland. kitchen, with running water, we didn’t have to haul water anymore, or go to the outhouse! My Grandfather, Tilghman Lee, lived in Sugarland, MD. Granddaddy’s house was a small frame house with There were many Sunday’s when we sat in the front shingled siding and a tin roof. Granddaddy had a of the church. Granddaddy had many important jobs

14 in the church. He kept most of the church records. Afro-American community from slavery to the present Every June, we would go to Sugarland for Children’s day. We wish to create an outreach program for Day. We would be dressed in our Sunday best. Then students and the general public to learn more about we would line up in front of the church and recite the African-American experience of transitioning from our bible verses. We would all try to find the shortest slavery to freedom. A web site has been established verse we could. as a resource for people to learn how to document their history and how to create a data base for Discipline at Granddaddy’s involved getting a switch tracking their genealogy. The Sugarland Ethno-History from a special tree to be used for your punishment. Project is a non-profit corporation organized exclusively One day we all got the switch because Aunt Bessie for charitable, faith based and educational purposes. wanted to be sure she got the guilty party. Please visit us at www.sugarlandethnohistoryproject.org.

Conclusion As time moves on, so do people. During the 1940s, 50s, and 60s, rural Americans, especially blacks in the South, began to migrate toward cities and away from 1 Montgomery County Land Records, now available from the Maryland their historic homes. Today there are few descendants State Archives at their on-line site, www.mdlandrecs.net. 2 George W. McDaniel, Black Historical Resources in Upper Montgomery of the original families who settled Sugarland Forest County, Sugarloaf Regional Trails, July 1979, illustration from p.163 left, and the cost of maintaining properties has 3 Sugarland Community Church Ledger, 1870 in the Sugarland’s St. Paul become harder every year. With every family member’s Community Church Archives, hereafter referred to as “church archives”. 4 Wording from the historic marker in front of church passing, what is known about the past becomes even 5 Transcript of the copy of the contract to build church in the church more remote. Yet the emotional and spiritual bond to ledger, at the church archives. the land remains strong. Yearly family reunions and 6 George W. McDaniel prepared several Maryland Historic Sites Trust, Inventory forms for State Historic Sties Survey, one on St. Paul’s Community heritage day celebrations inspire grandsons, grand- Church and Cemetery, and also on the Sugarland School in July 1978. daughters, removed from earlier generations’ rural life His papers used in preparing the forms, and the source cited above are at the Montgomery County Historical Society Library. to return, discover, and reclaim their past. It is a history 7 Personal interview of Bill Lyles, with Gwen Reese. These oral histories are that can only strengthen what we know of ourselves in part of the records of the Sugarland Etho-History Project. Montgomery County. 8 Personal interview of Dora Timbers with Gwen Reese 9 Personal interview of Mary Beckwith with Gwen Reese 10 Charles & Marian Jacobs, compilers, Confederate Veterans of Montgomery Research was started in 1995 to document the historical County, notes on Basil Dorsey, non-published manuscript at the Montgomery community started by freed slaves. In 1996, with County Historical Society. 11 Personal interview of Philip Johnson with Gwen Reese the help of Howard University, the name Sugarland 12 This was necessary as the group wished to become incorporated. The Ethno-History Project was added12. Our goal is papers of the Sugarland Ethno-History project are being maintained as to create an archive type museum to document part of Sugarland’s St. Paul Community Church Archives. genealogy of members of this Montgomery County Copyright © Sugarland Ethno-History Project Inc. 2017

15