Allegany County Maryland--History

57 years ago, city man made history

- The following articles were a two-part series on William Peck that was published in the Cumberland Times-News in recognition of Black History Month, February 2013.


William Peck, one of Fort Hill’s first black graduates, helped break racial barriers.

William Peck received his first 11 years of local education at Carver School and his final one at Fort Hill High School where he and two other students became the first blacks to graduate following court-ordered scholastic integration in 1956.

This photograph depicts Al Feldstein on the left, and William E. Peck on the right. It was taken at the Cumberland A.M.E. Church on February 15, 2004. This was during Black History Month and a display and program on local black history had been organized by the church.

Mr. Peck was among the first group of integrated students to graduate from the Allegany County Public School System. This was from Fort Hill High School, in 1956, which had the first scheduled commencement of that year. Al Feldstein is holding a newspaper article from that period about the graduation.

This photograph was taken at the Cumberland Metropolitan A.M.E. Church on February 15, 2004. This was during Black History Month and the church had organized a program and historical display on local history.

This photograph depicts community members viewing a display on local black history at Allegany College of Maryland. The photograph was taken on January 19, 2004 as part of a Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of programs and speeches.

From left: guest speaker Dr. Frank Smith, director of the Afro-American Civil War Museum in Washington, sits with Allegany College of Maryland human service students Sarah Delozier, Jason Gaither, Karl Glocker, Leigh Oates and Denise Marshall and musical guest Shannon Watkins Tuesday morning before a presentation to mark Black History Month in the college theater at the Cumberland campus.

As part of Black History Month 2007, Allegany College of Maryland invited Al Feldstein to set up an exhibit on local black history. This was available for inspection by audience members before and after a presentation given by Dr. Frank Smith, a former member of the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and now Director of the African-American Civil War Museum in Washington DC.

Historical and musical performances were also presented during the evening, as indicated by the woman in makeup third from the right.
 

NAACP branch formed in Garrett County

OAKLAND — All of Maryland’s counties are now represented in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

A new branch for Garrett County was approved by the NAACP’s national office after more than 100 local residents signed up to be new members and petitioned for their own branch. This is the newest branch in the Maryland State Conference and the last county in the state to be officially chartered.

SECOND ANNUAL JANE GATES DAY

On Wednesday morning, August 31, 2022 the Second Annual Jane Gates Day event was held at the Jane Gates Heritage House on Greene Street, Cumberland, Maryland. Numerous elected officials and community members attended the occasion which was overseen by Sukh Gates, President of the Jane Gates Heritage House, and John Gates, who serves as Vice-president.

Jane Gates Heritage House

The week of September 3-8, 2019 saw a professional archaeological investigation undertaken on the grounds of the Jane Gates Heritage House on Greene Street in Cumberland, Maryland. This was overseen by consultants brought in from Texas as well as nearby Pennsylvania. Members of the Western Maryland Archaeological Society assisted and as a learning experience members of the general public were also invited to participate. Tours of the home were also given over the week-end.

The following article entitled, "City seeing a rise of black entrepreneurs" was written by Donovan Conaway and appeared in the September 9, 2019 edition of the Cumberland Times-News. A correction the next day noted that the owner of the "All That 2 Go" restaurant should have been identified as Jeney Fulton. The photograph depicted here is of Derik Stephens, the long-time owner and manager of the "N The Cut Barbershop," which is featured in the article.