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Northampton Slave Quarters and Archaeological Park

In 1673, Charles Calvert, the third Lord Baltimore, granted a 1000-acre tract of land to Thomas Sprigg. Named Northampton, this Prince George's County, Maryland, property was the home of the Sprigg Family and their servants and enslaved African Americans for nearly 200 years. Numerous descendants of slaves and tenants from Northamption still reside in Prince George's County, Maryland. Six clans can link their families to a common ancestor, Elizabeth Hawkins, who lived at Northampton during the 1800's. Northampton is associated with the Underground Railroad due to runaway ads appearing in two different Washington, D.C., newspapers. Osborn Sprigg, Jr., great-grandson to Thomas Sprigg, placed multiple runaway ads in The Centinel of Liberty for both "Charles" and "Bob" in 1800. Later, Samuel Sprigg, former Governor of Maryland and nephew to Osborn Sprigg, Jr., placed runaway ads in the Daily National Intelligencer for "Billy" and Clem" in 1815, "...Clem and his wife Sophy..." from 1817 to 1819, "Tom" and "Joe" in 1820, and "William" in 1836.

Visitor Information: Currently open to public.

Location: Lake Overlook Drive, Bowie, 20721

National Park Unit: No

Ownership: Donald Creveling

Location Type: Site