By the mid-1700s, Prince George's County had the largest populations of slaves in the state — nearly half of its residents were enslaved Africans, most working on local tobacco plantations. The Civil War drastically changed this equation. During the conflict, county planters sided with the south, though most did not favor Maryland seceding from the Union. In April 1862, slavery was abolished in the Nation's Capital, and many Prince George's slaves fled there to feedom. Other escaped bondage by enlisting in the Union Army.

After the Civil War, a new state constitution freed Maryland's remaining slaves. Plantations began breaking up and newly freed slaves took up work as laborers, tenant farmers, and sharecroppers. Small African-American communities formed throughout the county. In the early to mid-1900s, African Americans who had fled Prince George's returned to build communities, such as the suburbs of Lincoln, North Brentwood, Fairmont Heights, and Glenarden. Between 1970 and 1980, the county's African-American population nearly tripled. Today, Prince George's County is the most affluent majority-black county in the nation.

[Captions:]
Coming out of slavery, most African-Americans were sharecroppers. With the growth of the nation's capital after the Civil War, African-Americans migrated to the



region to work government jobs. Now the county boasts more black-owned businesses than any other jurisdiction in the state.

During the Civil War, many slaves left their plantations and enlisted in the Union Army. These black troops and enlisted in the Union Army. These black troops are from Company E, 4th U.S. Colored Infantry, stationed at Fort Lincoln on the county's western border. From this location they could protect the approach of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and the Baltimore (Bladensburg) Pike.

Sandlot baseball was a popular sport among the county's African-American residents from 1920-1960. These teams were outlets for talented black players who were prevented from playing for the all-white major league teams.

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Show me all markers in:  Oxon Hill, MD  |  Prince George's County  |  20745  |  Maryland  |  United States of America

The Founding of Maryland
The Tobacco Economy
Andrews Air Force Base
College Park
Hyattsville
Neighbor to the Nation's Capital
Laurel
Bladensburg
Upper Marlboro
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