Brief History of Mt. Winans
Brief History of Mt. Winans
The original Mount Winans settlement, located in what is now
Morrell Park, was named for inventor Ross Winans (1796-1877),
an inventor-engineer who designed and built locomotives for the
fledgling Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. After the Civil War,
Winans and his son Thomas developed a southeastern portion
of their land as a working-class community with low-cost
housing for rail laborers. Sometime towards the end of the
century, this new development adopted the name Mount
Winans.
In 1872, the Reverend James Peck of Sharp
Street Church in Baltimore purchased one roughly thirty-acre
parcel. Here, the Church established the first, and what would
long be the only, burial ground for Baltimore’s African-
Americans. The cemetery, which Reverend Peck originally
dubbed the “City of the Dead for Colored People,” stretched
from Annapolis Road to Hollins Ferry Road along Graveyard
Lane (today Waterview Avenue). This western corner of
Westport was open to African-Americans, as was the “new”
Mount Winans neighborhood it abutted. Towards the end of the
19th Century, leaders of the Sharp Street Church officially
renamed their Westport Cemetery “Mount Auburn,” and erected
a small church on the corner of the property, establishing the
“Sharp Street Mission” for local Black Methodists.
In the early 1950's, after a group of talented women advocated for an elementary school to
educate neighboring children and youth, the Mt. Winans Elementary School was erected.
Due to asbestos concerns, the building was partially closed and used for community
recreation and conferencing only. However, the growing asbestos and concerns for tenant
safety forced the school to close and all of its community programs closed with it. The
community was left without any assets to foster growth. There were no banks, libraries,
health-care facilities, professional health-care, shopping, etc.
In 2008, the Mt. Winans Shalom intitiative, Inc was reorganized by a group of professional
persons within the community. The goal of these persons is to reclaim and rebuild this
historic community for social, physical and economic empowerment of all persons.
Community Partnerships are being forged daily. Hope is on the street corners and within
the hearts of those who deeply love this special community. We believe in the people of Mt.
Winans and will work with utmost character, ethics and passion to make it thrive again.
Consider making a donation today.
The original Mount Winans settlement, located in what is now
Morrell Park, was named for inventor Ross Winans (1796-1877),
an inventor-engineer who designed and built locomotives for the
fledgling Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. After the Civil War,
Winans and his son Thomas developed a southeastern portion
of their land as a working-class community with low-cost
housing for rail laborers. Sometime towards the end of the
century, this new development adopted the name Mount
Winans.
In 1872, the Reverend James Peck of Sharp
Street Church in Baltimore purchased one roughly thirty-acre
parcel. Here, the Church established the first, and what would
long be the only, burial ground for Baltimore’s African-
Americans. The cemetery, which Reverend Peck originally
dubbed the “City of the Dead for Colored People,” stretched
from Annapolis Road to Hollins Ferry Road along Graveyard
Lane (today Waterview Avenue). This western corner of
Westport was open to African-Americans, as was the “new”
Mount Winans neighborhood it abutted. Towards the end of the
19th Century, leaders of the Sharp Street Church officially
renamed their Westport Cemetery “Mount Auburn,” and erected
a small church on the corner of the property, establishing the
“Sharp Street Mission” for local Black Methodists.
In the early 1950's, after a group of talented women advocated for an elementary school to
educate neighboring children and youth, the Mt. Winans Elementary School was erected.
Due to asbestos concerns, the building was partially closed and used for community
recreation and conferencing only. However, the growing asbestos and concerns for tenant
safety forced the school to close and all of its community programs closed with it. The
community was left without any assets to foster growth. There were no banks, libraries,
health-care facilities, professional health-care, shopping, etc.
In 2008, the Mt. Winans Shalom intitiative, Inc was reorganized by a group of professional
persons within the community. The goal of these persons is to reclaim and rebuild this
historic community for social, physical and economic empowerment of all persons.
Community Partnerships are being forged daily. Hope is on the street corners and within
the hearts of those who deeply love this special community. We believe in the people of Mt.
Winans and will work with utmost character, ethics and passion to make it thrive again.
Consider making a donation today.
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