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Freedmen’s Bureau Schools

Overview

The Freedmen’s Bureau Schools in Maryland were established after the Civil War to provide education for newly emancipated African Americans. These schools, funded and operated by the Freedmen’s Bureau, aimed to offer basic literacy and vocational skills to former slaves and their children, helping them transition into free society. Many of the schools were set up in churches, community centers, or makeshift buildings, and were often supported by Northern philanthropic organizations. Despite facing resistance and limited resources, these schools played a crucial role in advancing education for African Americans during Reconstruction.

Maryland Freedmen’s Bureau Schools

Frederick County

Carroll County

The selected schools below are schools that have extant records we have been able to locate online. There were additional schools that educated African American students in Carroll County during the 1860s and 1870s, including the Muttontown/Bark Hill/African School between Uniontown and Union Bridge and a school built by the African American community of Priestland. For more information about African American schools in Carroll County during the nineteenth century, see this Carroll History Journal (Spring 2016) article by Mary Ann Ashcraft.

Washington County

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Explore research and resources related to African American history during the Civil War.

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This project has been generously funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Park Service, the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority, Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area, Frederick Community College, and others.

See Credits page for full list.

Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area
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