Description
Mount Hope Baptist Church is the site of the oldest African American Baptist congregations in Charles County. Established in 1867 by Rev. A. A. Watts, it was the founding church for three other African American Baptist communities including Oak Grove in Nanjemoy/Grayton (1883), Pleasant Grove in Marbury/Chicamuxen (1907), and Little Zion in Hilltop (1880), all located in western Charles County.
The site reflects the emergence of African American communities after the Civil War and the importance of churches and schoolhouses in that evolution. Finally adding to the site’s significance, the site may contain one of the few remaining examples of Rosenwald Schools to survive in Charles County.
The cemetery at Mount Hope Baptist Church includes a wide sampling of African-American grave traditions including the presence of unmarked graves, graves with burial plates, wooden stakes, crosses and painted tablets; hand-painted cement tablets, cement tablets molded into unique shapes, and one of the most common elements found in African American cemeteries in Charles County, cement crosses. Graves generally face east and are adorned with hardy plants such as yucca, azalea and hosta. The cemetery has an informal arrangement with graves generally facing east and grouped by family.
The largest and most substantial monument is a memorial stone in the form of an obelisk erected for Rev. R.B. Ward. According to the stone erected by the Potomac and Rappahanock Baptist Association, his widow and the Oak Grove, Mt. Hope, Zion Baptist and Pleasant Grove churches, Ward was born in Richmond, VA Nov 6, 1848, died Sept 21, 1920, age 74. The cemetery also includes the graves of USCT veterans Charles Henry Brown and Charles Henry Lawson. Some of the most unique handmade stones in Charles County are found at this site including an elaborate stone-encrusted cement cross with an inlay cross in the center. Tradition holds that Matthew Henson’s mother is buried in the Mount Hope cemetery.
Additional Resources
Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties form: https://apps.mht.maryland.gov/medusa/PDF/Charles/CH-776.pdf
