Emilie Amt

Historian

An African-American History Tour of Washington County

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I’ve created a driving tour of some of my favorite local African-American history sites, for the Washington County-Hagerstown Convention and Visitors Bureau. Head on over to the CVB blog to read all about it.

Tolson’s Chapel, Sharpsburg
Tolson’s Chapel, Sharpsburg

Sites on the tour include Ferry Hill Plantation, Tolson’s Chapel, and the Antietam Iron Works ruins near Sharpsburg. From Sharpsburg we head to St. Mark’s Episcopal Church-Lappans and Rockland Plantation. Then in Hagerstown we visit the Jonathan Street area. Finally, we head west to Fort Frederick.

Washington County is also home to well-known historical sites like Antietam Battlefield and the John Brown Farm, which had enormous impact on African-American history nationally. The sites on this tour are more off the beaten track and highlight the daily experience of the local African-American community.

The tour includes informational links, routes, and stops for meals.

About Emilie Amt

Emilie Amt is a retired professor of history. From 1998 to 2021 she held the Hildegarde Pilgram Chair of History at Hood College in Frederick, Maryland. She earned a B.A. in medieval studies from Swarthmore College and a D.Phil. in modern history from Oxford University. Her current research focuses on nineteenth-century African American history in western Maryland.

Her forthcoming book about African American experiences of the Battle of Antietam will be published in summer 2022 by The History Press. She is also working on a history of slavery in Washington County, Maryland. A medieval historian by training, she has published books and articles on medieval religious women and English government, war, and finance. Her books include college textbooks and scholarly editions of Latin texts.

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