Montgomery Parks works to preserve African American history with several parks and museums in the county that are open all year. During February, Montgomery Parks offers free educational programs and exhibits to celebrate Black History Month.
Parks and Museums Preserve African American History
Josiah Henson Museum and Park
11410 Old Georgetown Road
North Bethesda, MD 20852
The Josiah Henson Museum and Park is the first museum in the United States dedicated to Reverend Josiah Henson. Located on the grounds of the former plantation where Henson was enslaved prior to self-emancipating to Canada, the site includes a visitor center, a historic house with an attached log kitchen dating to 1850, and a 4-acre landscaped park with accessible walking paths.
Indoor and outdoor interpretive exhibits throughout the property detail Henson’s inspirational life story, enslavement in Maryland, and the ongoing struggles for racial equality and justice. The park is part of the National Park Service National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom program.
Hours: Friday-Saturday 10 a.m. ‒ 4pm, Sunday 12 p.m. ‒ 4 p.m.
Admission: $5 (adults); $4 (kids, 6-17); $4 (seniors); Free (5 and under)
Josiah Henson Museum and Park | Montgomery Parks
Oakley Cabin African American Museum and Park
3610 Brookeville Road
Olney, MD 20832
Oakley Cabin African American Museum and Park is a living history museum that promotes awareness of and education about the Reconstruction Era and the free Black rural communities that appeared after the Civil War. In addition to the cabin, which is located on a former farm and plantation, the site includes the .7-mile natural surface Oakley Cabin Trail.
Hours: The second and fourth Saturdays, April through October 12 ‒ 4 p.m.
Oakley Cabin | Montgomery Parks
Woodlawn Manor Cultural Park
16501 Norwood Road
Sandy Spring, MD 20850
Woodlawn Manor Cultural Park provides a glimpse into Montgomery County’s agricultural past. The park, which is located on historic grounds, features the Underground Railroad Experience Trail, the Woodlawn Museum housed in the 1832 stone barn, and the Federal-era Woodlawn Manor House, which dates to the early 1800s. The park is part of the Rachel Carson Greenway and the National Park Service National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom program. The Manor House is currently closed for renovations.
Hours: Woodlawn Museum and Visitor Center, April through November, Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., Sunday noon – 4 p.m.
Admission: $5 (adults); $4 (kids 6-17); $4 (seniors); Free (5 and under)
Trail and park grounds are open sunrise to sunset.
Woodlawn Manor Cultural Park | Montgomery Parks
Programs to Celebrate Black History Month
Unshakable: The Rise of Newmantown
Friday, Feb. 3 from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. (every Saturday and Sunday during February)
This exhibit at the Agricultural History Farm Park explores the history of former slaves, Albert and Mary Newman who emigrated to Derwood in 1862 from Virginia. The couple became landowning farmers and with their children built a thriving African American community known as “Newmantown” which is located on the grounds of what is now the Agricultural History Farm Park in Derwood. Photographs, documents, family mementos, local history and artifacts excavated from the site are on display.
The exhibit will be on display every Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. through the first week of March.
Montgomery County Agricultural History Farm Park
18400 Muncaster Road
Derwood, MD 20855
Black History Month Family Day
Saturday, Feb. 18 from 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
Explore the county’s Black history at Woodlawn Manor Cultural Park in Sandy Spring. Take-home activities for ages 5-12 are available in the Visitor Center. Explore the Underground Railroad Experience Trail with trail maps available in the Visitor Center.
Woodlawn Manor Cultural Park
16501 Norwood Road
Sandy Spring, MD 20860
