• Celebrity
    • Of The Essence
    • Celebrity News
    • If Not For My Girls
    • The State Of R&B
    • Time Of Essence
  • Fashion
    • 2023 Best In Black Fashion Awards
    • 2023 Fashion House
    • Red Carpet
    • Fashion News
    • Accessories
  • Beauty
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
    • 2023 Best In Black Beauty
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Hair
  • Lifestyle
    • Love
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
    • Bridal Bliss
    • Lifestyle News
    • Health & Wellness
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
  • Entrepreneurship
    • Money & Career
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Paint The Polls Black
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Shopping
  • Video
  • Events
    • 2023 Fashion House
    • 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
    • 2023 Wellness House
    • 2023 Black Women In Hollywood
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2023 HOLLYWOOD HOUSE
  • Studios
  • Girls United

WHERE BLACK CULTURE, COMMUNITY AND CONSCIOUSNESS MEET

Sign up for ESSENCE Newsletters the keep the Black women at the forefront of conversation.

Your email is required.
Your email is in invalid format.
Confirm email is required.
Email did not match.
Select the newsletters you'd like to receive:
Please select at least one option.
By clicking Subscribe Now, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Skip to content
SUBSCRIBE
  • MAGAZINE
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Celebrity
    • Of The Essence
    • Celebrity News
    • If Not For My Girls
    • The State Of R&B
    • Time Of Essence
  • Fashion
    • 2023 Best In Black Fashion Awards
    • 2023 Fashion House
    • Red Carpet
    • Fashion News
    • Accessories
  • Beauty
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
    • 2023 Best In Black Beauty
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Hair
      • Hair News
      • Natural
      • Relaxed
      • Transitioning
      • Weave
      • 4C
  • Lifestyle
    • Love
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
    • Bridal Bliss
    • Lifestyle News
    • Health & Wellness
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
  • Entrepreneurship
    • Money & Career
  • News
    • Latest News
    • Paint The Polls Black
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Shopping
  • Video
  • Events
    • 2023 Fashion House
    • 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
    • 2023 Wellness House
    • 2023 Black Women In Hollywood
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2023 HOLLYWOOD HOUSE
  • Studios
  • Girls United
Home · News

Signs Marking 'Negro Mountain’ Removed From Maryland Highways

The Maryland State Highway Administration took down a total of four signs in April after complaints that the "Negro Mountain" signs were racially insensitive.
Signs Marking ‘Negro Mountain’  Removed From Maryland Highways
By Tanya A. Christian · Updated October 23, 2020

According to The Baltimore Sun, signs with elevation information for Negro Mountain, a portion of the Allegheny Mountains that stretches from Maryland to Pennsylvania, have been taken down by the State Highway Administration. A spokeswoman from the agency said the action was taken in April over concerns of racial insensitivity. 

In all, four signs were removed. Two were previously placed along Interstate 68 and the others on U.S. Alternate Route 40. The Cumberland Times-News first reported on the missing signs and spoke with people affiliated with the Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration. One community liaison was unclear why the signs had been removed, but Lora Rakowski, acting director for the agency’s office of communications explained that it was done in the community’s interest.

“We continue to work with the Association for the Study of African American Life and History and the local community to better understand the interests of all stakeholders,” Rakowski said in an email to the Cumberland Times-News. 

Though the origin of the mountain’s name is debatable, two well-circulated theories include the heroic death of a Black man during a fight with American Indians during the French and Indian War. 

Signs Marking ‘Negro Mountain’  Removed From Maryland Highways
Listing for an old postcard reveals the name “Negro Mountain”

“Nemesis, a black frontiersman … was killed here while fighting Indians with Maryland frontiersman Thomas Cresap in the 1750s,” reads a marker near the mountain. “Legend tells us that he had a premonition of his death. In his honor, they named this mountain after him.”

Lynn Bowman, an African-American author whose written on the history of the area, told the Times-News that a third theory attributes the name to that area being a former place of African American lynchings. Though she added that it’s unlikely. 

Regardless of how Negro Mountain received its name, it seems doubtful that the signs marking its elevation will reappear. 

“I have heard both stories but I’ve never seen corroborating facts to support either and would be interested to know more,” Clory Jackson, creator of “The Brownsville Project,” an initiative to elevate the forgotten Black community of Frostburg, Maryland, shared with the Times-News by email. “In my opinion, the name ‘Negro Mountain’ is antiquated. I’d love to see the community use transformative justice to choose a new name that helps us remember Blacks in Appalachia.” 

TOPICS:  Maryland News
COMPANY INFORMATION
  • Our Company
  • Customer Service
  • Essence Ventures
  • Change Your Address
  • Contact Us
  • Job Opportunities
  • Internships
  • Media Kit
  • tag
SUBSCRIBE
  • Newsletters
  • Give a Gift of ESSENCE
  • Magazine Tablet Edition
FOLLOW US
MORE ON ESSENCE
  • Home
  • Love
  • Celebrity
  • Beauty
  • Hair
  • Fashion
  • ESSENCE festival

ESSENCE.com is part of ESSENCE Communications, Inc.

Essence may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.

©2023 ESSENCE Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Essence.com Advertising Terms

Get The ESSENCE Newsletter and
Special Offers delivered to your inbox

By clicking Sign Up, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Get The ESSENCE Magazine
by subscribing below
subscribe now