Collection Name
About
Media Items
FROSTBURG —
To pay homage to an important piece of Frostburg’s history, the state of Maryland and the city of Frostburg have proclaimed Oct. 11 as a day to honor Brownsville, the African-American community that existed where Frostburg State University now stands.
FSU will host a dedication ceremony in recognition of Brownsville at 1 p.m. on the Upper Quad of campus.
Determined to give the black children of Frostburg an education, Tamar Brown, a woman who was freed from slavery after the Civil War, purchased a lot in 1866 and had a one-room schoolhouse built on it. The school, which came to be known as Lincoln School, served as a magnet for the African-American families of Frostburg, and the community that grew around it came to be known as Brownsville in her honor.
Lynn Bowman, author of “Being Black in Brownsville,” Frostburg city officials and descendants of the community’s original families will speak at the event. FSU students will provide guided tours of the area.
Bowman’s books will be available for purchase and all funds raised will be donated to the Bernard Wynder Legacy Fund, which provides funding for the FSU Diversity Center’s initiatives.
For more information, contact Amy Branam Armiento at 301-687-4293 or abranam@frostburg.edu
In this historical photo, residents of Brownsville stand outside the John Wesley A.M.E. Church, built in 1885, which stood at the corner of Oak and Maple streets on what is now the campus of Frostburg State University.