301:. In February 2000, a retired engineer, who remembered when the incident happened, and had worked on the grounds, and helped record the names of those interred there, showed city officials a map of the cemetery along with a partial list of names of those interred, allowing them to discover the location of the graves within the site. These documents put an end to speculation about whether or not there were any dead buried under the site. After the names were found the plans for the plaque were changed from a plaque simply describing the history of the grounds to a plaque that would also list the names of those buried there.
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Cemetery. Lord
Nickens, a civil rights activist in Frederick, also claims that some of the bodies were removed and moved to Fairview Cemetery. The city has no record of any objections at the time to what was done to the cemetery. William O. Lee Jr. speculated that most people who had living descendants probably had their remains moved to Fairview Cemetery and that those who remained had nobody to object for them. For some time after this the original use of the grounds was forgotten.
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said, "There was nobody left to take care of it any more, everybody with any connection to the place had died or moved away." After a special meeting of the lot holders in
Laboring Sons that took place on 1 October 1948, they gave the grounds to the City of Frederick, who in turn, promised to restore the grounds to their original condition. The agreement proposed to the city, which the city accepted, was: that the city would maintain the land as a
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sidewalks and lead towards a hill in the center on which there stands a monument to those who are buried on the grounds. The monument lists of the names of the identifiable dead buried on the grounds, along with a brief history of the grounds, and a note commemorating the
Laboring Sons Memorial Committee and the City of Frederick for their work to restore the grounds.
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in the city, with a particular emphasis on naming them after historical prominent black citizens. The
Gazette heard about the grounds because a local resident, living near Chapel Park, suggested that Chapel Alley ought to be named Laboring Sons Alley in recognition of Laboring Sons Beneficial Society
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Construction of the memorial park was hindered by the discovery of bodies and having to bring in "copious amounts of dirt" in order to cover them. The dirt was used so that any construction would happen on the new top layer of soil and the bodies interred would remain undisturbed. As work was done
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In the 1990s, a
Frederick resident, Jackie Berry, decided to research her great-great-uncle's burial location. His death certificate stated he was buried in Laboring Sons Cemetery. She made the connection that Laboring Sons Park might be the location of Laboring Sons Cemetery. Around the same time
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monument to be erected there. The city's director of historic preservation, Barbara Wyatt, volunteered to design a memorial park to put on the site, and to champion the effort. William O. Lee Jr., a member of the committee formed in 2000, said, "Without her we wouldn't be this far". The design for
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Municipal workers who helped move the grave stones underground said that they had just done as they were told and that no bodies had been moved. Makel also said that no bodies were removed from the site, but an official from
Fairview Cemetery has said that some of the bodies were moved to Fairview
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By 1949 the cemetery had an estimated 1,500 bodies buried in it, but there was nobody left to care for the grounds, and they had deteriorated. A photo in a 1948 newspaper showed the cemetery covered in weeds and underbrush. Garland Makel Jr., grandson of one of the last of the society's officials,
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passed an act incorporating it. Its membership consisted of both free and enslaved blacks from
Frederick; free blacks at the time numbered around 790 or about 16% of the city's population. They established the cemetery, purchasing 1.17 acres of land for $ 265, located between 5th and 6th Street on
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of
Frederick in 2002, promised during her campaign that she would restore the grounds, saying that, "It seems logical to say a burial ground should never become something other than a burial ground, or at least a place of honor." When she was elected Mayor she approved work to identify those who
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The memorial grounds are 1.17 acres (0.47 ha) in size and are located between 5th and 6th Street on Chapel Alley; they take up most of the block. The park is surrounded by sidewalks on 3 sides. The entrance, located on the side bordering 6th Street, has a metal archway. The sidewalks bisect
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Work on the memorial was fraught with "delay and inaction" for two and a half years after the committee issued its suggestions. Roelky Myers, director of parks and recreation for
Frederick in 2003, said that the committee the city set up for the memorial were unaware that they would have to go
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on the grounds for free and found 10 possible burial shafts in two areas of the park. The committee suggested to the city that it remove all recreational equipment from the site, remove the asphalt, erect a monument with the names, birth dates, and death dates of those interred, along with a
170:. In 1999 the original nature of the grounds was rediscovered. In 2000, the City of Frederick promised to make amends for what happened with the grounds. In 2001 the site was dedicated as the Laboring Sons Memorial Grounds. Construction on the new memorial grounds finished in 2003.
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Chapel Alley, in the
Historic District of Frederick, in 1851. At the time there were few cemeteries in which blacks could be buried in the city, and even in those the amount of available space was limited. In 1852, a quarter of the cemetery was divided in 12 foot by 16 foot
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The Laboring Sons Beneficial Society was founded in 1837 "for the purpose of relieving or alleviating both spiritually and temporally any member of us who may be distressed and to see that his mortal remains be interred with decency." It would not see official
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through the Historic District Commission, leading to delays. In the week leading up to 13 September 2002 the Frederick Historic District Commission approved the basic design of the memorial park along with the design of the 4 foot tall and 11 foot wide
361:, the site was rededicated as a memorial ground and a plaque was erected listing the names of the 117 people known to be buried there. A second re-dedication ceremony was done on 20 June 2003 when construction on the site had finished
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the park evolved from a simple design with some benches and paths to a much more elaborate setup with trees, bisecting pathways, and retaining walls that are short enough to sit on. City officials promised to rename it Laboring Sons.
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Walker, Edward W.; Makel, Mrs. John J (17 September 1948). "Notice to the Lot-holders and Persons Interested in the Laboring Sons Cemetery and Members of the Beneficial Society of the Laboring Sons of Frederick City".
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and headstones from the cemetery. Newspapers at the time reported that some of the remains in the cemetery were disturbed. The workmen buried some of the headstones to provide a smooth surface for laying
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description of the site, create paths and benches on the sites that were not over identified graves, build another play area in the community, and rededicate the location as Laboring Sons Memorial Park.
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noticed that, on an old map in city hall, the grounds were labeled "Colored Cemetery" dispelling the idea that the city may have destroyed the grounds out of ignorance of their purpose.
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with the name Laboring Sons Memorial Park, that no further burials would be permitted unless the city decided to allow a black hero, scientist, artist, or athlete to be buried, that a
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located between 5th and 6th Street on Chapel Alley. The cemetery was established by the Laboring Sons Beneficial Society in 1851 as a cemetery for
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of the city, all the monuments and stones currently in the cemetery would be left undisturbed, and that the city would fund a study regarding
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and in memory of those buried under the park. The article, run in the Gazette in 2000, helped bolster support for restoring the grounds. A
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257:) and converted the grounds into a whites-only park which they named Chapel Park. During the construction, a list of the names of those
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amongst the colored youth and propose solutions to fix it. The memorial tablet that the city had promised to erect was never erected.
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In 1862 half of the Laboring Sons Beneficial Society split off into the Workingmen's Society due to disagreements within the group.
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corner posts. As time went on the remainder of the grounds were sold off as burial plots in order to fund the society's activities.
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In 2001 the site was dedicated as a memorial garden and the name changed to Laboring Sons Memorial Ground; in 2003, on
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in the city. In 1949 the cemetery would be given to the City of Frederick who destroyed the grounds and created a
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602:"Laboring Sons Memorial Ground – Frederick Monument & Memorials – The Journey Through Hallowed Ground"
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for restoration of the park. Another $ 60,000 was acquired from a combination of donations and the city's
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Bill Lee Remembers: A Chronicle of Twentieth Century Black Life in Frederick, Maryland
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A committee was formed in June 2000 to research the site and plan a memorial. An
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unanimously promised to make amends and honor those buried on the grounds with a
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at the site began to be compiled, but was stopped after reaching only 161 names.
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were buried in the grounds and made work on the grounds one of her priorities.
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lodge, were urging the city to acknowledge what had happened and make amends.
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Wait, Patience (16 December 1999). "Forgotten History returns to light".
529:"Reclaiming The Hallowed Ground Of The Laboring Sons – Last Rites | WYPR"
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Instead of restoring the grounds, in 1949 the city removed the remaining
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Miller, Steve (13 July 2002). "Memorial plans for park back on track".
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579:. Frederick, Maryland: Diversions Publications Inc. pp. 44–46.
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Symonds, Andrew (15 January 2003). "Cemetery dedication today".
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Miller, Steve (5 February 2000). "Names of buried uncovered".
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former alderman Bill Lee and Bernard Brown, Grand Master of a
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Improved Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks of the World
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In 1999, the City of Frederick decided to rename all of the
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Historic African American cemetery in Maryland, U.S.
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630:Meachum, Roy (17 January 2000). "Belated Notice".
354:was notified anytime that a new body was found.
446:"In Frederick, Past Injustices Vex the Present"
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479:Here Lies Jim Crow: Civil Rights in Maryland
229:be erected, that the park would be open to
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308:company in Frederick volunteered to do a
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152:The Laboring Sons Memorial Grounds
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653:. Frederick, Maryland. p. 6.
775:1851 establishments in Maryland
330:The city earmarked $ 40,000 of
371:List of cemeteries in Maryland
144:Laboring Sons Memorial Grounds
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22:Laboring Sons Memorial Grounds
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575:Lee, William O. Jr. (2003).
197:though until 1867, when the
405:. Maryland Historical Trust
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755:Historic sites in Maryland
359:Martin Luther King Jr. Day
476:Smith, C. Fraser (2008).
199:Maryland General Assembly
188:Establishment and decline
122:1.17 acres (0.47 ha)
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400:"Laboring Sons Cemetery"
730:The Frederick News Post
750:Cemeteries in Maryland
668:. Frederick, Maryland.
606:www.hallowedground.org
450:www.washingtonpost.com
293:In January 2000, the
95:39.42056°N 77.40694°W
235:juvenile delinquency
174:Physical description
770:Frederick, Maryland
710:Frederick News Post
692:Frederick News Post
336:capital improvement
332:federal grant money
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269:Rediscovery
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164:free blacks
98: /
73:Coordinates
36:Established
744:Categories
611:2016-05-14
586:097437153X
538:2016-05-14
455:2016-05-14
377:References
223:playground
86:77°24′25″W
83:39°25′14″N
338:program.
247:black-top
365:See also
259:interred
227:monument
111:Owned by
52:Location
324:granite
183:History
133:≈ 1,500
64:Country
31:Details
600:JTHG.
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409:14 May
299:plaque
283:alleys
253:and a
251:swings
44:Closed
403:(PDF)
343:mayor
206:with
204:plots
154:is a
581:ISBN
484:ISBN
411:2016
221:and
119:Size
47:1949
39:1851
158:in
128:No.
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