Jefferson Street

Jefferson Street. A Lively Thoroughfare in the 1800s. , It might seem hard to believe, but the narrow street running up the hill in front of you was once the main north-south route through Middletown. The old "town center" was just up the hill behind you, where Jefferson St. intersects Main St. Today most of the traffic runs along Church St., (MD 17) up the hill to your left., Notable families established homes along Jefferson St., many of which remain today. Farther up the street Middletown's free and enslaved blacks settled in a neighborhood known as "Africa," with a church and a school. Sometimes on quiet summer evenings, residents walking up the street remembered hearing the inspirational singing., [Captions:] , If you looked to your left in the mid-1880s you might have seen a horse and carriage on this unpaved street. The historic Christ Reformed Church is still seen in the distance., Civil War officers climbed up into the steeple to observe troop movements, just as they did at the large white Zion Lutheran Church up on Main St. behind you., The heart of the African American community was the Asbury Methodist Episcopal Church about ½ mile up the street. Built about 1850, the church was burned twice and is no longer standing, but its foundation and cemetery remain., View of the head of Jefferson St. in the mid-1800s. The fine house across the street served as a parsonage for the Zion Lutheran Church up on Main St. behind you. Note the carriage tracks in the slushy street.