NOW IT STANDS, THE HISTORIC NEGRO MOUNTAIN MARKER, IN GARRETT COUNTY, MARYLAND. MEMBERS OF THE DR. EDNA B. MCKENZIE BRANCH OF ASALH ARE PICTURED.
The Dr. Edna B. McKenzie Branch of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) of Western Pennsylvania continues to celebrate Negro Mountain, located in Grantsville, Maryland. In fact, the local ASALH adopted Negro Mountain to accurately teach the history of the unknown Black frontiersman for whom the mountain was named and who died alongside Thomas Cresap in a skirmish with Indigenous French Allies on May 24, 1776.
His name has been lost to history, yet signage emblazoned with the name of the mountain had previously stood prominently. However, in May 2019, when the Dr. Edna B. McKenzie Branch members journeyed to Maryland to clean the Negro Mountain Parklet area of litter, they discovered both of the elevation signs were missing on U.S. Alt. Route 40.
Dr. Edna B. McKenzie Branch President Ronald B. Saunders quickly jumped into action, first contacting Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, and working with the governor’s designee, Gregory Slater, members of the Dr. Edna B. McKenzie Branch, and the president of the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society (AAHGS), Marlene Bransom, to implement a compromise for the missing signs. In September 2020, the McKenzie Branch partnered with MDOT (Maryland Department of Transportation) to discuss and devise a solution. Through further partnerships with Dr. Julie Schablitsky of the Cultural Resources Division of MDOT, Dr. Artie Travis, Vice President of Student Affairs, Frostburg State University, Garrett County Historical Society, Garrett County Administration, Prince Georges County Truth Branch of ASALH, Samuel L. Banks Branch of ASALH, Clarence Davis, former Maryland State Delegate, and Lora Rakowski, Acting Director, Office of Communication, Maryland State Highway Administration, Negro Mountain was renamed to: “Negro Mountain, African American Historic Site.” This resulted Negro Mountain becoming the first place to have a historic marker in Garrett County, Maryland. The historic marker is located near a pull-off area on Alt US 40 (National Pike) near Zehner Road, according to the Garrett County Republican publication.
On October 12, 2023, members of the Edna B. McKenzie Branch hosted a festive celebration for the unveiling of the Historical Marker for Negro Mountain African American Historic Site in Garrett County. The event was attended by 80 people from various departments in Maryland, other ASALH branches, the Alleghany NAACP, Garrett County officials, Frostburg State educators, Garrett County Historical Society, and private citizens. The Dr. Edna B. McKenzie Branch of ASALH acknowledges the following members who have participated in the effort to change the historical landscape in Western Maryland: Marlene Bransom, Alonna J. Carter-Donaldson, Alexis Clipper, Martha Conley, Margaret Self, Linda P. McDougald, Judith E. Saunders, Tamara M. Saunders, Ronald B. Saunders, Dr. Artie Travis, and the late Ann Mason.
MEMBERS OF THE DR. EDNA B. MCKENZIE BRANCH IN FRONT OF THE ADOPT A HIGHWAY SIGN DURING THE ANNUAL CLEAN UP: MARLENE BRANSOM, MARGARET SELF, ANN MASON, LINDA MCDOUGALD, JUDITH SAUNDERS, ALONNA CARTER-DONALDSON AND PRESIDENT RONALD B. SAUNDERS.
Dr. Edna B. McKenzie, the first African American woman to earn a Ph.D. in the History department at the University of Pittsburgh, and a pioneering journalist with the Pittsburgh Courier, is whom the local ASALH branched is named. The inauguration of the branch took place on October 13, 2012.
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