The State of Maryland and Montgomery County will commemorate Maryland Emancipation Day on November 1st. On this day 161 years ago in 1864, a referendum was passed by a very narrow margin approving a new Constitution for Maryland that included freeing Maryland’s enslaved.  In Southern Maryland, 33,295 enslaved persons were “free at last”.  This included Blacks across the four counties in Southern Maryland who made up over 60% of the population.

At the start of the Civil War, Maryland was designated as a “free state” because Maryland did not secede from the Union with the rest of the Confederacy.  President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, effective January 1, 1863, only applied to the seceding States. Therefore, Maryland was able to continue practicing enslavement until November 1st 1864. 

That date is thought to coincide with the date that the Josiah Henson family arrived in Canada in 1830 to begin their lives in freedom after escaping enslavement on the Riley plantation (Rockville, Maryland).  Henson’s autobiography inspired the 1852 Harriet Beecher Stowe novel, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”. 

Emancipation Day is not exclusively American. It is observed in many parts of the world to mark the abolition of serfdom or any other form of involuntary servitude. In former European colonies in the Caribbean and areas of the United States it is celebrated on various significant dates to commemorate the emancipation of those of African descent who were enslaved. 

Maryland started officially recognizing Emancipation Day in 2013, when then-Governor Martin O’Malley signed a measure to celebrate the passing of a new Maryland Constitution which freed slaves in Maryland on Nov. 1, 1865, two months before the U.S. Constitution’s 13th Amendment was passed by Congress in January 1865. Maryland’s legislature abolished slavery on October 11, 1864, six months before the end of the Civil War in April 1865, and a full year before the 13th Amendment was ratified. 

Remember the Button Farm Emancipation Day Celebration Open House, Saturday,  October 25th from 12-3:00p.m. 16820 Black Rock Rd, Germantown. Admission is free. The program will feature speakers, self-guided tours of the farm museum garden, and animal pens.  Snacks and cider are provided! Contact the farm for more information [email protected] The Button Farm closes for the Winter on November 1st. 

The Josiah Henson Museum and Park, 11410 Old Georgetown Road, North Bethesda, will be celebrating Maryland Emancipation Day on Saturday, November 1st from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. The Montgomery County Commission on Remembrance and Reconciliation has agreed to sponsor FREE admission on Saturday, November 1. 

  • Hands-On Activities in the Riley-Bolten House (Included with admission) 
  • Lawn Games (Included with admission) 
  • Self-guided tours (Included with admission) 

Admission: FREE 

Parking: Parking for the Josiah Henson Museum and Park is located at 5900 Executive Blvd, a 1.5-block walk. Limited accessible parking is located at the main Visitor Center.