Through land ownership, home-building, and careful financial management, Hill established lasting stability for his family, while Bond’s enlistment reflects the hope and determination that a lot of Black men felt as they looked towards the Civil War as a path for improving their condition.

Built ca. 1848, Black Meadows is significant for its role within the interconnection of the Black and White communities that shaped nineteenth-century Sandy Spring. Rather than hold enslaved individuals, the Peirces employed at least thirty-eight free Black persons who worked in exchange for cash, foodstuff, and barter.

Rather than presenting Sandy Spring’s past primarily through the perspective of landowner, these updates illuminate the intertwined histories of Black and White residents—marked by both cooperation and inequity.

Sandy Spring Museum was recognized by the Aspen Institute for our community-forward approach.