Preservation Maryland, the state’s preservation agency, designated Pleasant View Historical Site as one of six sites across the state of Maryland to create a cooperative partnership with to put the site on a new trajectory toward a better sense of preservation.
In addition to the support and attention that the designation will bring, the designation by preservation Maryland as one of its inaugural six-to-fix designations affirms what we trustees have known all along that The Pleasant View Historical Site is “too precious to lose.” The designation says that the site is worthy of telling the compelling story of how the decision of three African-American men boldly stepped forward to purchase three acres of land for the establishment of a place of worship and education for black children that became the crucible for the advancement of black children for generations that followed.
This designation by Preservation Maryland says that black lives, black stories and black culture matter. Not only do they matter, but they are worthy of preservation and support.
The Pleasant View Historic Association is thankful for The Quince Orchard Project and its supporters because, in addition to the innate significance of the site, we believe that the documentary effort helped attract the attention of Preservation Maryland. We hope our experience can be an inspiration to others – the only way to let others help preserve your story is to share it.
ABOUT PLEASANT VIEW
The Pleasant View Historic Site is a 3-acre plot of land that was purchased in 1868 by Thomas Neverson, George Johnson and Charles Beander from Aquila and Elizabeth Clagett Fisher. A small-one room schoolhouse – The Quince Orchard Colored School – was erected on the site a 3-acre plot of land to educate the colored children of the neighborhood and Montgomery County for ever. This building also served as the house of worship for the African-American community of Quince Orchard until Pleasant View Methodist Episcopal Church was built in 1888. Through fires and rebuilds, these two institutional pillars of the black community of Quince Orchard continue to stand as lasting monuments together with the Pleasant View gravesite all as reminders us of the depth of our past and the promise of our future.