CHESTERTOWN — Sumner Hall, a Grand Army of the Republic post chartered in 1882 by local Black veterans, is one of the newest additions to the National Park Service’s Reconstruction Era National Historic Network.
Created in 2019 by the John D. Dingell Conservation, Management and Recreation Act, the network connects sites across the country that provide education, interpretation and research related to Reconstruction — a broad period from 1861 to 1900 “in which the United States grappled with the question of how to integrate millions of newly freed African Americans into social, political and labor systems,” according to the National Park Service’s website.
Sumner Hall, located at 206 S. Queen St. in downtown Chestertown, is one of five Maryland sites on the Reconstruction Era National Historical Park Network.
For more information on the network, see https://www.nps.gov/subjects/reconstruction/news.htm.
Union veterans formed the GAR as a national social and fraternal organization on April 6, 1866, about a year after Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered his Confederate troops to Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House in Virginia, effectively ending the Civil War.
Charles Sumner Post #25 in Chestertown — named for the U.S. senator from Massachusetts who was a fierce advocate of emancipation and voting rights for African Americans — was one of 56 Maryland GAR posts, of which 22 were African American.
Post #25 was established in 1882 by about 20 or so Civil War veterans who had served in the U.S. Colored Troops.
Today, Post #25 is one of only two historically African American GAR posts still standing in the United States, and the only one still open to the public.
The GAR was a fraternal organization for both African American and white Civil War veterans.
The building that stands on Queen Street in Chestertown was constructed in 1908, and was restored in 2014 after falling into disrepair.
Now, Sumner Hall serves as a museum, educational site, performance stage, social hall and exhibit gallery with the goals to celebrate, preserve and educate about African American history and life in Kent County and beyond.
For more information, visit https://sumnerhall.org/.
“Sumner Hall is a very special place. It keeps alive the memories of Kent County African American Civil War veterans and the rich and diverse culture of the Kent County community,” board member Ruth Shoge said in a news release.
Vanessa Isaacs Ringgold, president of the Sumner Hall board of directors, said she hopes that Sumner Hall’s inclusion in the Reconstruction Era National Historic Network will attract more attention to this valued piece of history in Chestertown.
“Sumner Hall stands as a powerful testament to the resilience and fortitude of the African American community during the Reconstruction era and beyond,” Ringgold said in the news release.
“We look forward to welcoming visitors who discover Sumner Hall through this network,” Ringgold added.
Sumner Hall is open to the public every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Special arrangements to visit the museum at other times may be requested by phone (443-282-0023) or email (info@sumnerhall.org).
