Maryland
Historic London Town and Gardens
remembering those who didn't survive the middle passage
Four hundred years ago, the first enslaved Africans were sold in British America at Jamestown, Virginia. Enslaved people quickly became essential to the tobacco economy throughout the Chesapeake. Almost a century later, all ships sailing the South River were required to “Unlade and put on Shore, all Negroes” at the tobacco port of London Town. 20 slave ships are known to have docked at London Town, and nearly 700 Africans aboard them died on the journey. The enslaved survivors were taken from Sierra Leone through Angola along the West African coast. They brought with them their diverse languages, religions, foods, and cultures, all of which became woven into a new American culture.
Our history can’t be told without slavery. This site, with its UNESCO designation, remembers the unwilling sacrifice and suffering of many throughout the Atlantic World.
The only remaining historical structure at London Town is the William Brown House, which became the Almshouse (pictured above). The house was constructed in the mid 18th century. However, from the 1830s – 1965, it became the county’s almshouse for people who were unable to live on their own. African American residents lived here- it was a strange middle ground where they weren’t enslaved, but also weren’t exactly free.
Enslaved people were not allowed to live at the Almshouse. However, freed African Americans did live there, either because of mental illness, illiteracy, or an inability to market their skills. It was a terrible place to live.
By 1870, African Americans made up only a third of the people at the Almshouse. The creation of free communities of color perhaps absorbed the less fortunate in ways that were impossible under slavery. While those who remained at the house had their long sought-after freedom, they were still trapped in an oppressive society. There were few opportunities and no chances for advancement.
