Maryland Cemetery Where Enslaved Iron Workers Rest Now Protected by State Park

A two-acre burial ground in Frederick County, Maryland, where enslaved workers from the historic Catoctin Furnace are laid to rest, has been donated to become part of Cunningham Falls State Park. The cemetery holds an estimated 100 graves of skilled African American ironworkers who helped produce weapons for the Revolutionary War, including cannonballs used at the Battle of Yorktown.

Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources now oversees a sacred burial ground where enslaved ironworkers from the 1700s are interred, following a land donation that adds the historic cemetery to Cunningham Falls State Park.

The two-acre African American cemetery in Frederick County serves as the final resting place for skilled workers who labored at the Catoctin Furnace, which operated during America’s founding era.

State officials held a ceremony on February 28 at the historic Harriet Chapel, a church that never practiced segregation, to mark the land transfer from the Catoctin Furnace Historical Society. Family members descended from those buried at the site attended the solemn gathering during Black History Month.

Maryland DNR Secretary Josh Kurtz emphasized the significance of the transfer during the ceremony. “The transfer of this land to the Maryland Park Service is more than a procedural step; it is a declaration,” Kurtz stated. “It is a promise that the State of Maryland will protect this ground with dignity and ensure that these stories are celebrated and shared with honesty. As we finish celebrating Black History Month and turn toward celebrations of America’s 250th Anniversary, this important place will serve forever as a reminder that African American heritage is foundational to Maryland and American history.”

The iron-making operation began in 1776 under Thomas Johnson, who signed the Declaration of Independence and became Maryland’s first elected governor, along with his three brothers. Workers at the facility created iron products for George Washington’s Continental Army, including ammunition used in the decisive Revolutionary War battle at Yorktown, Virginia. The furnace also manufactured everyday items like dishes and heating stoves for colonial households. The original furnace ruins already sit within the state park boundaries.

Maryland Park Service Director Angela Crenshaw spoke about honoring the workers’ memory and contributions. “We gather to honor the individuals whose lives shaped Catoctin Furnace – skilled ironworkers, laborers, mothers, fathers, and children; people whose contributions to Maryland were immense, even when history failed to record their names,” Crenshaw said. “Their lives mattered. Their dignity endures. And their story deserves to be told honestly, fully, and permanently.”

Crenshaw praised the Catoctin Furnace Historical Society for their efforts to research, document, and maintain the cemetery throughout their ownership. Elizabeth Comer, who serves as both historian and archaeologist as well as president of the historical society, referenced a 1979 archaeological dig that uncovered 35 burial sites, representing roughly one-third of the total graves believed to exist in the cemetery.

The historical society also runs the Museum of the Ironworker, located close to the cemetery grounds.

Beginning in 2014, the Catoctin Furnace Historical Society initiated an extensive campaign to educate the public about African Americans’ crucial role in iron production at Catoctin Furnace and similar operations, while showcasing their broader influence on America’s industrial development.

After seven years of fundraising efforts, the historical society successfully purchased the privately-owned cemetery within a 1.921-acre plot in May 2025, which they have now transferred to the Park Service.

Comer reflected on the timing of the land transfer during America’s 250th birthday celebration. “How fitting is it that on this, the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, we can fully commemorate the lives of these founders of Maryland who lived, worked, and died at Catoctin,” Comer said.

The historical society plans to maintain their involvement and support of the site going forward. The related nonprofit Catoctin Furnace Friends Group Inc. is currently raising money to help DNR and the historical society create a conservation and preservation management plan and perform ground-penetrating radar surveys for a proposed trail extension to reach the cemetery.