Muirkirk, Maryland: Difference between revisions

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'''Muirkirk''' is an [[unincorporatedUnincorporated area|unincorporated community]] in northern [[Prince George's County, Maryland|Prince George's County]], [[Maryland]], [[United States]], located between [[Baltimore, Maryland|Baltimore]] and [[Washington, D.C.|Washington]] in the central part of the state.<ref>{{gnis|597797}}</ref>

It is located along [[U.S. Route 1 in Maryland|U.S. Route 1]] between [[Beltsville, Maryland|Beltsville]] and [[Laurel, Maryland|Laurel]]. It has a stop on the [[MARC Train|MARC]] [[commuter rail]] (on the Camden line), and hosts a [[Dinosaur Park (Prince George's County, Maryland)|dinosaur park]].

Muirkirk was the historic location of [[Muirkirk Furnace]], from which the area takes its name. The ironworks were established before the [[American Civil War]]. After the conflict began, the US government hired a manager from the North, [[Charles Edward Coffin|Charles Coffin]], to ensure the works were kept under federal control.

Located along Old Muirkirk Road, near Muirkirk station and just east of the former furnace,<ref name=Chidester>{{cite report |url=http://www.heritage.umd.edu/CHRSWeb/AssociatedProjects/ChidesterReport.htm |chapter-url=http://www.heritage.umd.edu/chrsweb/associatedprojects/chidesterreport/Chapter%20VI.htm |title=A Historic Context for the Archaeology of Industrial Labor in the State of Maryland |chapter=VI: Western Shore |first=Robert C. |last=Chidester |publisher=University of Maryland College Park Department of Anthropology Center for Heritage Resource Studies |access-date=December 20, 2015 |date=c. 2003 }}</ref> is the historic African-American community of '''Rossville''', originally composed mostly of families of men who labored at the ironworks. It has existed for more than 100 years. In 1868 after the Civil War, six black men purchased property for a church and cemetery, forming the Queens Chapel [[Methodist Episcopal Church]] in the rural enclave colloquially referred to as "Swamp Poodle." Part of the property was already in use as a burial ground. They intended to use the church building, originally a small log structure, as a school for their children. This was the start of a postwar cohesive black community in which freedmen established a church independent of white supervision.<ref>[http://www.mncppcapps.org/planning/HistoricCommunitiesSurvey/Documentations/62-023-21/62-023-21.pdf "Queen's Chapel and Burial Grounds"], Determination of Eligibility, Maryland Historical Trust, 13 Sep 2002, MNCPPC, accessed 17 Mar 2010</ref> The Queen's Chapel church was rebuilt in the 1950s.<ref name=Chidester/>

Around 1885, the estate of landowner Mark Duvall, who owned considerable property in the [[Beltsville, Maryland|Vansville]] area, provided for the sale of {{convert|28.5|acre|m2}} just east of Queen's Chapel. The twelve lots made available were quickly settled by African Americans, many of whom worked at nearby Muirkirk Furnace. Augustus Ross, after whom the community was named, built one of the first houses.

The largest lot was purchased by Rebecca Lodge #6, [[Benevolent Sons and Daughters of Abraham]], a black fraternal organization whose members established the historic [[Abraham Hall (Beltsville, Maryland)|Abraham Hall]]. The lodge hall functioned for years as the community school for black children, as the state had [[Racial segregation in the United States|segregated]] facilities. In 1922 the black community raised matching funds and gained white school board members' approval to build a [[Rosenwald School]] to improve the educational facilities for black children. Historically black schools were underfunded.<ref name="aahist">[http://www.mncppc.org/county/AAHeritage/HistPropInHistComm_North_Part1.pdf M-NCPPC African-American Heritage Survey, October 1996: Properties Within or Closely Associated With Historic Communities (Prince George's County, Maryland), 1996]{{dead link|date=February 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}.</ref> This former school was more recently used as an American Legion post.<ref name=Chidester/>

The following is a list of historic sites in Rossville, near Muirkirk, identified by the [[Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission]]:<ref name="aahist"/><ref>[http://www.mncppc.org/county/historic_sites.htm M-NCPPC Illustrated Inventory of Historic Sites (Prince George's County, Maryland), 2006] {{webarchive|url=https://web.<archive.org/ref><refweb/20080725020708/http://www.mncppc.org/county/historic_sites.htm name|date="aahist"2008-07-25 }}.</ref>

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[[Category:Unincorporated communities in Prince George's County, Maryland]]

[[Category:African -American history inof Prince George's County, Maryland]]