Maryland lawmakers vow to restore abandoned graveyard where over 200 Black boys are buried

More than 200 Black boys confined to the House of Reformation and Instruction for Colored Children died and were buried at the gravesite.

An abandoned graveyard in Maryland filled with the unattended graves of more than 200 Black boys is finally being restored.

On Tuesday, September 23, members of Maryland’s Legislative Black Caucus toured the site, which holds the remains of 230 boys who died while confined to the House of Reformation and Instruction for Colored Children, a state-run juvenile detention facility in Prince George’s County.

Del. Jheanelle K. Wilkins (D-Montgomery) told the Washington Post the purpose of the visit was to “commemorate, bring dignity, bring light and also accountability in terms of this facility, which was created by the state and abused and neglected young Black boys who never left and are now buried there.”

The group of lawmakers walked past the weathered headstones, prayed, and discussed how policy changes could prevent future harm to Black children. One visitor told WUSA9 the overgrown woodsy scene was “jarring.”

Rediscovered last fall by the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services, the cemetery contains boys who died between 1870 and 1939, according to a Washington Post investigation published Monday. Records show many of the boys were sent to the House of Reformation for minor infractions and endured forced labor and harsh conditions before dying in custody.

Over the years, maintenance of the site fell, and it’s now an overgrown area next to the newly restored and pristinely kept Cheltenham Veterans Cemetery.

Gov. Wes Moore’s administration has pledged $250,000 in next year’s budget to begin restoring the site. The work is expected to include uncovering additional unmarked graves, repairing headstones, and creating a memorial. 

“We’ve been told, in this area there are many, many headstones we haven’t seen yet,” said historian David Schindler, who briefed lawmakers during the visit. “And that’s why the work to restore this area is so important.”

Schindler noted that Maryland could look to the state’s recent efforts at Crownsville Hospital Center as a model. For decades, Black patients with mental illnesses were institutionalized there under abusive and neglectful conditions. This month, state and county leaders unveiled a memorial at Crownsville honoring the 1,727 patients who died at the hospital between 1912 and 1965, most buried in unmarked graves, reported the Baltimore Banner.

Speaking to the Baltimore Banner while at the House of Reformation gravesite, state Sen. Michael Jackson said, “We need to be mindful of never, ever allowing something like this to happen again.”