Muirkirk, Maryland facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Muirkirk
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 Muirkirk
Location in Maryland
Muirkirk
Location in the United States
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| Country |  United States of America |
| State |  Maryland |
| County |  Prince George's |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| GNIS feature ID | 597797 |
Muirkirk is a small community in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. It's not a city or town with its own government, but rather an unincorporated community. You can find it between the big cities of Baltimore and Washington.
Muirkirk is located along U.S. Route 1, a major road. It's situated between the towns of Beltsville and Laurel. The community has a stop on the MARC commuter rail line, which helps people travel for work or fun. Muirkirk is also home to a cool dinosaur park!
The Story of Muirkirk
Muirkirk gets its name from an old factory called the Muirkirk Furnace. This factory made iron and was built a long time ago, even before the American Civil War. When the war started, the U.S. government made sure the factory kept running. They hired a manager from the North, Charles Coffin, to keep it under federal control.
Rossville: A Historic Community
Near the old ironworks and the Muirkirk train station is a historic African-American community called Rossville. This community has been around for over 100 years! Many of the first families in Rossville were men who worked at the Muirkirk Furnace.
After the Civil War ended in 1868, six Black men bought land to build a church and a cemetery. This became the Queens Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church. Part of the land was already being used as a burial ground. These men also planned to use the church building, which was a small log structure at first, as a school for their children. This was a big step for freed people to create their own community and church without white supervision. The Queen's Chapel church was rebuilt in the 1950s.
Around 1885, a landowner named Mark Duvall sold some land (about 28.5 acres) just east of Queen's Chapel. Twelve lots were quickly bought by African Americans, many of whom worked at the nearby Muirkirk Furnace. Augustus Ross, after whom the community was named, built one of the first houses there.
The largest lot was bought by Rebecca Lodge #6, a Black fraternal organization called the Benevolent Sons and Daughters of Abraham. Members of this group built the historic Abraham Hall. For many years, this hall served as the community school for Black children. At that time, schools in the United States were separated by race. In 1922, the Black community raised money and got approval to build a Rosenwald School to make the schools better for Black children. These schools were often not given as much money as white schools. This former school building was later used as a meeting place for an American Legion post.
Charles H. Stanley of Laurel also sold about 25 acres of land to Black residents in Rossville. This is recorded by the Maryland Historical Trust.
Learning in Muirkirk
Public schools in Muirkirk are managed by Prince George's County Public Schools.
For many years, schools in the United States were separated by race. This meant Black students from Muirkirk had to attend specific schools. From 1928 to 1950, they went to Lakeland High School in College Park. After 1950, Fairmont Heights High School served Black students until around 1964. That's when the laws requiring schools to be separated by race finally ended.
Images for kids
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Abraham Hall, a historic building in Rossville.
