CANTON — The names of the 48 enslaved persons who lived at the Canton Plantation in the late 18th century, once lost to history, are now on public display.
WATCH: New historical marker honors the enslaved that helped build Baltimore
"We thought that they were worthy of their own historic marker and to replace the whitewashed history that was on the statue of Captain O'Donnell," co-chair of the Canton Anti-Racism Alliance John Ford said.
Advocates successfully removed the slave owner's statue in 2021.
Its existence took Canton resident Tommy Bee aback when he first moved to the neighborhood 15 years ago.
"I did my own research of that and it was something that kind of stung to see, you know, and I understand the reality of what it was and the reality of this neighborhood," Bee said. "Canton is changing, and I'm glad to be a part of it. I'm glad to be here to see it and I'm hopeful for the future."
During the project to remove the statue, the Alliance found properties listed in the probate records for O'Donnell we he died in 1805, which included the 48 names, many of which are children, alongside their ages and assessed dollar valuations.
"Including, I believe, an infant for about $2. This atrocious history we thought needed to be documented," Ford said. "To be perfectly clear, the neighborhood built here by the Canton Company over the industrial revolution was built using the wealth of a plantation that in turn was built by the stolen labor of those enslaved people on this marker."
"Our ancestors thought that their prayers and their tears and traumas would never ever be spoken about. But we serve a God that's so mighty that will allow us to have such a day as today," Rev. Dr. Marietta Herbert-Davis, interim pastor at the United Evangelical Church, said during a blessing of the new plaque. "No one will ever erase us."
Ford says the project took many years to come together, and involved several collaborations with the city, community groups and property owners.
No small feat, he says, but worth the effort in one of Baltimore's historically segregated neighborhoods.
"I think this kind of symbolism makes a big difference when people decide where they want to live or where might be welcoming to them when they're deciding where to live in the city," he said.
The park, known colloquially as Canton Square, still formally bears O'Donnell's name as does the adjacent street, something the Alliance is thinking about tackling next.
"We need to figure out a new alternate name, submit everything to the city, get community feedback that would be an equally large effort," Ford said.
"Take it all down," Bee said. "We have a ton of names up there that we could use as replacements for O'Donnell Street and O'Donnell Square Park, so I think that's a good idea to start there."
