Emmanuel Episcopal Church

Emmanuel Episcopal Church

An outstanding example of Early Gothic architecture, with stained glass by Louis Comfort Tiffany

The Emmanuel Church sits on land that was originally Fort Cumberland, which served as a frontier outpost during the French and Indian War. Earthwork tunnels remaining from the fort run under the church. The church was constructed around 1850 and designed by well-known Philadelphia architect John Notman. It is modeled after St. Paul’s Church in Brighton, England, and is typical ecclesiastical architecture of the second quarter of the 19th century. Particularly striking are the three stained glass windows by Louis Comfort Tiffany, installed in 1906.

Also of note is the Parish House. Built in 1903 and designed by Cumberland native Bruce Price,  the structure includes elements of the popular Second Empire style, an eclectic style based loosely on French architecture during the reign of Napoleon. It features a projecting pavilion, tall windows and roof, and deep architectural details.

The Church played an important role in the Underground Railroad.

The rector of Emmanuel Parish at the time was Rev. David Hillhouse Buel, who had been active at other Underground Railroad sites in Sykesville and Westminster, MD before coming to Emmanuel in 1847. Rev. Buel worked alongside the Sexton (custodian) of the church. The sexton’s job included keeping the church and rectory looked after, keeping the furnace going and ringing the church bell, and also doing custodial work at the Allegany Academy.

These three buildings are on a line with each other that runs about 200 yards (Emmanuel Parish Church is at 16 Washington St. The Library (Allegany Academy) is at 31 Washington St. and the old rectory is at 29 Prospect Sq.). They are connected by a tunnel that once was part of the defenses of Fort Cumberland. In the 1850s a steam line ran through this tunnel from the furnace under the church to the Academy and beyond to the Rectory. It was a natural part of the sexton’s job to pass between these buildings day and night.

There was another part of the old fort’s defense works that ran from under the east end of the church down the hill to the banks of Will’s Creek. In those days, this was an area where rail lines came together at the terminus of the C&O Canal. This section was called “Shanty Town” because it was a poor area where canal workers and black community members lived. It was a natural hiding place for someone on the run. It was also at the end of the C&O Canal towpath, which was a major line on the Underground Railroad that ran up the valley of Virginia and met the Potomac near Harpers Ferry.

Escaping slaves who had reached the Shanty Town section of Cumberland were instructed to hide out there and await a signal for their next move. According to the oral history tradition, it was the sexton’s job to send them a message by ringing the church bell in a special coded way, and then bring them up the hill by the old fort’s earthwork, through an iron gate that led them through a passage to safety under the church.

Oral history then tells us that they would rest a day beneath the church, receiving food and aid from Rev. Buel and other abolitionists and conspirators. When night fell again, they would go down the tunnel that led them through the basement of the Academy and into the basement of the rectory. Then they would go out the rectory cellar door, which in those days was in an unpopulated part of town, and meet up with the transportation that would take them across the Mason-Dixon Line, just 4 miles away, or up another route that would lead them to the Land of Freedom. In this story, the tunnels under Emmanuel Parish Church were the last Underground Railway stop in slave territory for many.

The Underground Railroad was a vast and highly illegal conspiracy. Countless thousands of people, African and white Americans, were involved. By the law in those days, any escaped slave that was returned to his or her master could be beaten, mutilated or killed at the master’s will. Any black person involved with the Underground Railroad would simply be hung. White people involved might get off with a long jail sentence if they had a good lawyer. It is not surprising, then, that few actual documents remain of this rich and heroic history simply because almost nothing about it was ever written down.

The search for the story of the Underground Railroad is ongoing and relies in most part upon oral history (stories passed down from one generation to another in families and communities), and bits and pieces of evidence that can be strung together. This is largely the case of the station at Emmanuel Church.

The African American community of Cumberland has always told this story, passing it along in family and community lore. As well, much of the physical site remains under the Church and in the basements of the Academy (now the Public Library) and the old Rectory (now a law office), and there are pictures that show the old earthworks through which the escaping slaves accessed the station. In recent years, the oral history and the buildings and grounds have been strung together and we can now show and tell a story.

Much of the credit for the revival of public interest in the Underground Railroad history at Cumberland rests with the work of Dr. Raymond Dobbard of Howard University. He visited the city in 2000 bringing his scholarly book Hidden in Plain View. This book tells of how innocent looking quilts were actually used as roadmaps to guide the slaves on their route to freedom. One such quilt included a square with a symbol representing the Church and indicating that the bells would be rung as a signal – the very task of the church sexton!

Website:  https://www.emmanuelparishofmd.org/emmanuel-and-the-underground-railroad/the-underground-railroad-story/

Today, Emmanuel Episcopal Church and Parish House are contributing buildings to the Washington Street Historic District. Church services are open to the public, and the tunnels are open for tours during the Heritage Days festival in June and also by appointment.

Download Walking Tour Map

Emmanuel Episcopal Church

Emmanuel Episcopal Church

An outstanding example of Early Gothic architecture, with stained glass by Louis Comfort Tiffany

The Emmanuel Church sits on land that was originally Fort Cumberland, which served as a frontier outpost during the French and Indian War. Earthwork tunnels remaining from the fort run under the church. The church was constructed around 1850 and designed by well-known Philadelphia architect John Notman. It is modeled after St. Paul’s Church in Brighton, England, and is typical ecclesiastical architecture of the second quarter of the 19th century. Particularly striking are the three stained glass windows by Louis Comfort Tiffany, installed in 1906.

Also of note is the Parish House. Built in 1903 and designed by Cumberland native Bruce Price,  the structure includes elements of the popular Second Empire style, an eclectic style based loosely on French architecture during the reign of Napoleon. It features a projecting pavilion, tall windows and roof, and deep architectural details.

The Church played an important role in the Underground Railroad.

The rector of Emmanuel Parish at the time was Rev. David Hillhouse Buel, who had been active at other Underground Railroad sites in Sykesville and Westminster, MD before coming to Emmanuel in 1847. Rev. Buel worked alongside the Sexton (custodian) of the church. The sexton’s job included keeping the church and rectory looked after, keeping the furnace going and ringing the church bell, and also doing custodial work at the Allegany Academy.

These three buildings are on a line with each other that runs about 200 yards (Emmanuel Parish Church is at 16 Washington St. The Library (Allegany Academy) is at 31 Washington St. and the old rectory is at 29 Prospect Sq.). They are connected by a tunnel that once was part of the defenses of Fort Cumberland. In the 1850s a steam line ran through this tunnel from the furnace under the church to the Academy and beyond to the Rectory. It was a natural part of the sexton’s job to pass between these buildings day and night.

There was another part of the old fort’s defense works that ran from under the east end of the church down the hill to the banks of Will’s Creek. In those days, this was an area where rail lines came together at the terminus of the C&O Canal. This section was called “Shanty Town” because it was a poor area where canal workers and black community members lived. It was a natural hiding place for someone on the run. It was also at the end of the C&O Canal towpath, which was a major line on the Underground Railroad that ran up the valley of Virginia and met the Potomac near Harpers Ferry.

Escaping slaves who had reached the Shanty Town section of Cumberland were instructed to hide out there and await a signal for their next move. According to the oral history tradition, it was the sexton’s job to send them a message by ringing the church bell in a special coded way, and then bring them up the hill by the old fort’s earthwork, through an iron gate that led them through a passage to safety under the church.

Oral history then tells us that they would rest a day beneath the church, receiving food and aid from Rev. Buel and other abolitionists and conspirators. When night fell again, they would go down the tunnel that led them through the basement of the Academy and into the basement of the rectory. Then they would go out the rectory cellar door, which in those days was in an unpopulated part of town, and meet up with the transportation that would take them across the Mason-Dixon Line, just 4 miles away, or up another route that would lead them to the Land of Freedom. In this story, the tunnels under Emmanuel Parish Church were the last Underground Railway stop in slave territory for many.

The Underground Railroad was a vast and highly illegal conspiracy. Countless thousands of people, African and white Americans, were involved. By the law in those days, any escaped slave that was returned to his or her master could be beaten, mutilated or killed at the master’s will. Any black person involved with the Underground Railroad would simply be hung. White people involved might get off with a long jail sentence if they had a good lawyer. It is not surprising, then, that few actual documents remain of this rich and heroic history simply because almost nothing about it was ever written down.

The search for the story of the Underground Railroad is ongoing and relies in most part upon oral history (stories passed down from one generation to another in families and communities), and bits and pieces of evidence that can be strung together. This is largely the case of the station at Emmanuel Church.

The African American community of Cumberland has always told this story, passing it along in family and community lore. As well, much of the physical site remains under the Church and in the basements of the Academy (now the Public Library) and the old Rectory (now a law office), and there are pictures that show the old earthworks through which the escaping slaves accessed the station. In recent years, the oral history and the buildings and grounds have been strung together and we can now show and tell a story.

Much of the credit for the revival of public interest in the Underground Railroad history at Cumberland rests with the work of Dr. Raymond Dobbard of Howard University. He visited the city in 2000 bringing his scholarly book Hidden in Plain View. This book tells of how innocent looking quilts were actually used as roadmaps to guide the slaves on their route to freedom. One such quilt included a square with a symbol representing the Church and indicating that the bells would be rung as a signal – the very task of the church sexton!

Website:  https://www.emmanuelparishofmd.org/emmanuel-and-the-underground-railroad/the-underground-railroad-story/

Today, Emmanuel Episcopal Church and Parish House are contributing buildings to the Washington Street Historic District. Church services are open to the public, and the tunnels are open for tours during the Heritage Days festival in June and also by appointment.

Download Walking Tour Map