NOTTINGHAM, Md. — The Dowden Chapel and Cemetery, an important piece of Maryland's history, is now getting a facelift.
The former Methodist church in Nottingham once served as a stop on the Underground Railroad.
Route 1 used to be one of the paths up north for a lot of runaway slaves according to the church's caretaker James Harvey Jr.
Maryland lawmakers push to preserve Underground Railroad heritage site
"This was one of the sites that they would go and be supplied with clothing, shoes, food— which caused this to be one of the stations on the Underground Railroad," Harvey said.
Harvey's connection to the church extends beyond his role as caretaker; some of his family members are buried in the plots surrounding the church.
"My great grandfather and his wife are buried just outside the grounds here, and they had 13 children. Of those 13 children, 10 of the children were buried right here on this property," Harvey said.
The chapel, built in 1849, and its original contents have been preserved.
Harvey's grandfather took over caring for it about 100 years later, then his father assumed responsibility.
"That stayed until my father passed away in 2005. From that time, I was called to replace my father as one of the caretakers here. I started in 2006, one year after that," Harvey explained.
Now, local officials want to preserve it for future generations, specifically Senator Carl Jackson, the first Black senator to represent the district.
"Part of my job is to help with state funds, to try get some of the things that are badly needed to preserve this chapel," Jackson said.
Dozens of Harvey's ancestors—former slaves or descendants of slaves—can be found throughout the plot. Some of the graves are simply marked with rocks, bearing no name, date of birth, or death.
"In this area we focus on the Perry Hall mansion and all the history that comes with that, which kinda tells the white side of the history of this area but we never knew the Black side or the slave side of the history of this area which is Perry Hall and I think this is a great opportunity," Jackson said.
Dowden wasn't always accessible to the public due to vandalism and racism concerns, but Jackson says now is the time to push this project forward.
Harvey agreed with the senator—he doesn't want Dowden to die with him.
"I opened it up [to the public] mainly because worrying about this place dying when we die. We need youth, we need young people, to have that same interest here because this is, in my opinion, a gem," Harvey said.
