At the End of the Road

At the End of the Road. A Look Back into African American History. , From this point, Conway Road begins to narrow as it winds its way east. The road comes to an end at the Amtrak rail line and the Patuxent Research Refuge's North Tract beyond. At the road's end was a small community established by Quakers in the 1790s, which later evolved into the predominately African American enclave known as Wilsontown.

The small town that arose at the end of Conway Road was typical of agrarian settlements across Anne Arundel County in the 1800s. Clusters of homes were built around a common resource, such a post office, school, or general store. A Quaker meeting house served this purpose for this community.

In 1792, Quakers built the Indian Springs Meeting House, originally located west of the railroad tracks (built in the 1860s for the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad). Quakers were known for their strong abolitionist beliefs and welcomed free Blacks to use the meeting house for religious worship and schooling. While additional research is necessary, it is probable that the Quaker and free African American community provided a safe haven along the Underground Railroad.

After the Civil War, residents organized the Forks African Methodist Episcopal Church, which took ownership of the meeting house in 1872. In 1888, Quaker Rachel Tyson deeded 77 acres to African American brothers Isaiah, John, and Dennis Wilson.

Proximity to the railroad provided not only transportation links to Washington, Baltimore, and Annapolis, but also jobs with the railroad's operations. Census records and oral histories from residents reveal stories of African Americans from Wilsontown finding employment mending the tracks, serving as porters, and working in the railroad's warehouses.

In 1942, areas of Wilsontown northwest of the railroad were acquired by the U.S. Government to expand Fort Meade during World War II. In 1991, this property was transferred to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and today is part of the Patuxent Research Refuge. Some of the original property deeded to the Wilson brothers are within the borders of the refuge, including the site of Isaiah's home and the original location of the Quaker meeting house and Forks Church.

Just one building survives that connects with Wilsontown's history as a 19th-century African American enclave.

The church, located at the end of Conway Road, was built in 1942 for the African American congregation that traces its lineage to the free Blacks who worshiped at the Quaker's Indian Springs Meeting House. Many of today's parishioners are descendants of the church's original founders.

In 1869, the congregation organized as Forks AME Zion, its name reflecting its geographic location between the forks of the Patuxent and Little Patuxent rivers. The congregation took possession of the Indian Springs Meeting House in 1872 and built a new sanctuary on its foundation in 1908.

In 1942, the church property was acquired by eminent domain to expand Fort Meade. Parishioners used the compensation funds to purchase the six acres where the current church stands, now known as St. John AME Zion.

A small cemetery is located near the original site of the Indian Springs Meeting House. The cemetery contains the remains of members of both congregations, reflecting the unique relationship between the Quakers and freed African Americans. Ariana Wilson (c. 1862-1919) was the wife of Isaiah, one of Wilsontown's original founders.

(Captions):
The 1907 U.S. Geological Survey map shows the location of the Forks African Methodist Episcopalian Church. This church was built on the foundation of the Quaker's Indian Springs Meeting House (illustration above). The location is now on the grounds of the north tract of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Patuxent Wildlife Refuge.

IMAGE: Quakers in the Founding of Anne Arundel County, Maryland, 1963

Wilson Family Home, 1965
Image Courtesy of the Wilson Family