Excursus: Maryland, My Maryland: Oakland's Bethel A.M.E. Church (Part III)

The "main road" in this part of Garrett County is US Rt. 219. It runs roughly north-south and through the high Allegheny Plateau that lies between the higher Appalachian ridges. In the summer, there is wonderfully green farmland all around. In the winter, well...let me put it this way: Garrett County averages around 130 inches of snowfall per year. Of course, we are there in July, and it is lovely.

As we head south, Backbone Mountain rises to over 3,000 ft to our left/east; wind turbines that look like pinwheels for a race of giants line the ridge-top. Backbone Mountain is the Eastern Continental Divide in these parts. The water in the creeks along Rt. 219 flows into the Youghiogheny, thence into the Monongahela, the Ohio, the Mississippi, and the Gulf of Mexico. Beyond the wind turbines on Backbone Mountain, the water flows into the Potomac, the Cheseapeake Bay, and the Atlantic Ocean.


Of course, none of this helped us find John C. Yoder's farm. For that, we continued south on Rt. 219 until we came to a church with a road running alongside it. From what the Amish quilters had told us, the distance seemed about right (they hadn't mentioned a name for the road), so we turned in. And drove slowly so that there would not be an unseemly screeching of tires if we suddenly happened upon the old church building.

We came to a farm—house on the left side of the road and barn on the right—and just past the barn was a small shed. We both recognized it at once: the old Bethel A.M.E. church building. No screeching of tires; we just pulled off the side of the road and got out of the car. Carefully and with respect: the building is indeed historic, but it does remain in private hands and on private property.

Here is what we saw in mid-July 2015:

Former Bethel A.M.E. church building just south of Oakland (Garrett County) MD.
Now privately owned. (July 2015)
The dormer is said to be a later addition.

The farm's Amish owner clearly saw us arrive and came sauntering over within a few minutes. We hardly had to say anything at all to prompt him and he started in telling us the history of how his family and that building had come to be on this spot. Long story short—and let me assure you that we heard the long version—the farm was indeed the "Swartzentruber farm" but the last of the Swartzentrubers here was his grandmother (or was it his mother?), so it was under different ownership but remained known among the old-timers as the "Swartzentruber place" nonetheless.

The former A.M.E. church building had been purchased by our Amish host's grandfather sometime in the 1930s after the congregation was no longer able to pay the real estate taxes on the property. In the wake of a fire that destroyed the high school, the town of Oakland sought to rebuild and the old AME church was, well, in the way. So the building was sold at auction and Grandfather bought it, moved it here, and converted it to a combination carriage house and blacksmith shop.

And that's where the matter has stood for many years. When we had a look inside, the accumulation of years was abundantly clear: there was stuff everywhere, including not one but two of the old "hit-and-miss" antique single-cylinder gasoline engines. Our garrulous Amish interlocutor was quick to point out that using the old church as a blacksmith shop might not have been such a good idea insofar as Grandfather had neglected to replace the wooden church floors with something a little less combustible. Our host also allowed as how his grandfather would spend all day in this shop and never seem to have too much to show in the way of fabricated or repaired goods for the time spent. Our host and I arrived at the same conclusion at the same time: "It sure beat sitting in the house!"

The Garrett County Historical Society has shown interest in the building: the historical marker in front was placed a few years ago. There have apparently also been explorations of the possibility of purchasing the building, moving it and restoring it, but nothing has been made public yet. The Amish owner would like to see it stay in Garrett County.

We bade our Amish host farewell and set off on another sort of adventure, as a visit to Garrett County isn't complete without taking in some of the local natural wonders. This time it was the Muddy Creek Falls, a few miles northwest of Oakland. A heavy early-morning thundershower had helped the creek live up to its name: the water was still both high and stained. The park—Swallow Falls State Park—was nevertheless crowded. I came away with this shot of the 53 foot falls:

Muddy Creek Falls
Swallow Falls State Park
Garrett County, MD

Following up on some looser ends regarding the Bethel A.M.E. church after we had returned home, I discovered that the Western Maryland Historical Library had turned up an old (1906) map of Oakland in the Library of Congress:

Oakland (MD) 1906.

The image above shows a larger, reddish building—maybe a school?—just above and to the right of the center. Just above the roof of that building is a small image of Oakland's Bethel A.M.E. Church in its original location on the corner of 5th and High Streets in Oakland.

I've made a snip of an enlargement:

Oakland's Bethel A.M.E. Church in 1906
At the corner of 5th and High Streets
Oakland, MD

So, one more mission accomplished—but there are still so many questions: in the era of Jim Crow (the KKK was a presence in Garrett County but it isn't clear how strong), how did Garrett County's African-American community live? Where did they shop? Where did their children go to school? What became of the church-goers after the church closed? These stories of lives lived almost invisibly remain to be told.