African Americans History

Harper's Parklane Restaurant

Lucius Carlton "Pete" Harper (1916-2009) was born in Frostburg. He began playing music at the age of 14, progressing from ukulele, to the banjo and bass. Lucius had initially washed and waxed cars behind his building located on Beall Street Extended (now University Drive) where he also organized dances for the local teenagers.

In 1924, "America's Most Beautiful Fairground," the Cumberland Fairgrounds was completed at a cost of $250,000. The Fairgrounds was built on a tract of land along the Potomac River south of Cumberland and beneath the towering cliffs of Knobley Mountain. Opening day for the new race track was on October 7, 1924. The track featured horseracing which was a popular attraction at "Fairgo" from the 1920s until the last horse race in September 1961.

Mr. John Dorsey, proud owner of Dorsey's Chicken Shack on Pine Avenue, is posed here in front of his business establishment with numerous family members and friends.

The Dingle, depicted here in a photograph taken on September 10, 1916 by Joseph Meyers, was a private residential development in Cumberland's West Side. Excerpts from a letter written by the developer in 1926 states, "I named it 'The Dingle' after a beautiful private estate on the outskirts of Liverpool, England... The Dingle lies between two roads (McMullen Highway and Braddock Road), and means a 'Hollow between the Hills' which is very appropriate".

The Benjamin Banneker Apartment complex on Frederick Street in Cumberland was constructed during 1952-1953. In a Cumberland newspaper article from March 11, 1953, and just prior to its opening, it is simply referred to as the, "colored" housing project. It was eventually named for the Maryland born African-American mathematician and astronomer, Benjamin Banneker (1731-1806).
These photographs depict the 30-unit apartment complex shortly after it opened, and during its razing in August 2007.

Fayette Mitchell and the Founders of Frostburg

The following information was provided by Lynda Edwards Tilley, a native of Frostburg who now teaches English in Howard County, Maryland:

CUMBERLAND – The Cumberland Historic Cemetery Organization is celebrating Black History Month by honoring the bygone souls and supporters of Sumner Cemetery, Allegany County’s first black graveyard.

The cemetery is located between Baltimore Avenue and Yale Street behind the Trinity Lutheran, St. Luke’s Lutheran and Greenmount cemeteries.

The following article written by Lonaconing historian, Mary E. Meyers (1914-2008) was written in 1990. It was reprinted in the Cumberland Times-News, February 20, 2009 newspaper to help commemorate Black History Month.

Remembering the Blacks of Lonaconing
Mary E. Meyers
October, 1990

In "A History of Lonaconing Methodist Episcopal Church," written in 1904 by the pastor, Rev. Charles A. Jones, the author states that at that time there were about 35 Negroes living among the 7,000 residents of Lonaconing.

Brownsville Monument Dedication - 2020

On Tuesday, August 25, 2020 a ceremony was held on the Upper Quad of Frostburg State University (FSU) in Frostburg, Maryland dedicating a monument to the communities of Brownsville and Park Avenue. These were African-American communities which between the years 1927 and 1962 were displaced to make room for what is now known as Frostburg State University.

Depicted in the photograph unveiling the plaques are, from left to right, Brownsville descendants Janet Jackson and Anita Peck.

Brownsville Dedication Event

The increased expansion of present-day Frostburg State University during the 1920's and continuing for decades afterwards resulted in the displacement of an African-American community known as Brownsville. On October 11, 2014 members of the African-American community, descendants of the residents of Brownsville, citizens of Frostburg and members of the university community gathered to remember and document this event.