Hidden History: How a Former Slave Became a Prominent Land Owner
Stories of former slaves becoming land owners are not unheard of. What is, perhaps, more unheard of are the numbers of slaves that went on to own their own land. By 1910 an estimated 15 million acres across the United States were owned by former slaves. When the 1865 promise of restitution in the form of 40 acres and a mule was rescinded, formerly enslaved Black Americans went to work, doing their best to acquire land, build communities and give themselves a slice of peace in the midst of racism and classism in a country they built.
Enoch George Howard was one such landowner. Born into slavery around 1814 near the Hawlings River, Howard later became the enslaved field foreman on the Gaither family’s plantation in what is now Montgomery County, Maryland. In 1851, at age 37, he purchased his own freedom for about $3,000, savings he had earned by selling produce from a small parcel of land that had been permitted to him by the Gaither family. Two years later, in 1853, he also bought the freedom of his wife Harriet, whose former enslavers included Samuel and Maria Gaither.
From Enslavement to Landowner
In 1862, in the midst of the Civil War, Enoch and Harriet Howard purchased a 1790 plantation house, known as Locust Villa, along with approximately 289 acres from the Gaither family, thereby owning the land on which Harriet had once been enslaved. Over time, Enoch expanded his holdings to over 600 acres, gained significant respect in his community, and even donated land for a school serving the growing free Black population of the Unity district.
The Howard Chapel Church and a nearby school were founded by the Howard family to serve the local African American community of Unity. Adjacent to these institutions, the family cemetery was established. When Enoch and Harriet passed away (he in 1895), they were buried there. It eventually became the ancestral burial ground for descendants and others in the local community, beginning in 1862 as noted on former signage at the site.
Decline, Abandonment, and Later Rediscovery
As decades passed, later generations of the Howard family migrated away and sold the land to private investors. In the 1960s, the State of Maryland acquired the property, which now lies within Patuxent River State Park. Presently, the Howard Chapel area includes the cemetery, the original Gaither/Howard house ruins, and was part of the site where Howard Chapel Church once stood.
By the early 2000s the cemetery had fallen into disrepair with broken and stolen headstones and arson in the 1970’s ruined the schoolhouse and church. Descendants and local caretakers stepped in to clean and maintain the site due to lack of formal funding.
Preservation Efforts & Future Recognition
In the summer of 2023, Preservation Maryland, the Maryland Park Service, and the National Park Service organized a cemetery preservation day, restoring and resetting markers for Enoch and Harriet Howard’s graves.
The site is slated to become part of a forthcoming Freedman’s State Historical Park under the Great Maryland Outdoors Act, which prioritizes the protection and interpretation of freed Black heritage sites in the state’s park system.
Local heritage advocates and descendants continue to push for formal designation of the property as a historic site, a process actively pursued by Montgomery County since the late 1990s and early 2000s .
Howard Chapel Cemetery stands as a powerful symbol of freedom, self-determination, and community heritage. Founded by a former slave who bought his family’s freedom, built institutions, and preserved family land, it became the anchor for a Black community in rural Montgomery County.
Though neglected for decades after descendants dispersed, today the cemetery is receiving overdue attention. With ongoing preservation work and its upcoming integration into a Freedman’s-themed state park, the site now has the chance to be honored and interpreted for future generations.
