Freetown

Freetown. A Safe Haven for Freedom. , Freetown is one of the largest and oldest African American communities in Anne Arundel County, founded sixteen years before the start of the Civil War. The founders included free-born Blacks, formerly enslaved persons and run-aways, and indentured servants. This historic enclave continues to be a source of great pride, inspiration, and support for descendants and residents in the present-day.

In 1845, free Black James Spencer purchased 56 acres in the Freetown vicinity. His initial and additional purchases, as well as those of William Henry Howard, Edmund Franklin, Abraham Franklin, and Robert Curry, provided an anchor for the community. Eventually comprising 1,000 acres, Freetown is now bounded by Baltimore-Annapolis Boulevard to the west, Solley Road to the east, Marley Neck Boulevard to the north, and Mountain Road to the south.

Worship
Early residents worshipped at two nearby churches: Magothy Mount Zion Methodist Episcopal Church and Furnace Branch Methodist Church. A third church, Hall Chapel at Marley Neck, was built in 1878 on land donated by William H. Hall and his wife, Emeline, a woman of Native American descent. Church members informally taught children of the area in a small school building on the property.

Education
The first certifed, trained teacher taught grades one through seven at the nearby Good Templars Lodge until it mysteriously burned down. Residents Charles Pearman and Henry Franklin advocated to construct a new Rosenwald School in 1924, with support from the community ($400 and manual labor), Julius Rosenwald Fund ($700), and Anne Arundel County ($2,500). Despite lacking indoor plumbing, central heat, and adequate seating and learning materials, it was the first purpose-built school for Freetown and one of 23 Rosenwald schools built in the county between 1921 and 1932. There were few opportunities for older students until Wiley Bates High School in Annapolis opened in 1932.

Community
Freetown hosted promenades, dances, field trips, ball games, church socials, and celebrations. Socializing also took place while picking at George Jenkins' bean and strawberry fields. After a new elementary school was built in the 1950s, the Freetown Community Improvement Association purchased the Rosenwald school building from the county. Freetown's is one of only ten Rosenwald schools to survive in Anne Arundel County, and in 2007, was the county's first Rosenwald school to be listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

[Sidebar:]
Many noteworthy, strong women and men engaged in community service and activism over the years.

Mothers Cora Spencer Carter (left) and Jane Dorsey Matthews (right) petitioned the county to permit the establishment of a school in the Good Templars Lodge with a certified, trained teacher.

Sherman Bouyer founded the Freetown Christian Improvement Association (FCIA) in 1954 and was one of only a few Black insurance agents in Anne Arundel County.

Annie Parker, also known as Ms. Lizzie "Row Boss," served as supervisor of the produce fields owned by large landowner George Jenkins.

Midwife Annie Kess delivered and provided post-natal care to approximately 1,000 infants and mothers of all races and ethnicities. She established the first "well-baby" clinic in Pasadena, Md. and also served "Colored" mothers in her own home when they were barred by white staffers. Her clinic continues to serve the public.