Published October 16, 2026 at 5:08 PM EDT

Frederick County’s African American Heritage Center will see its grand opening, Saturday afternoon, featuring 400 years of Black history from across the local region.

The project is the dream of late historian Bill Lee, founder of Frederick’s African American Resources Cultural and Heritage Society (AARCH). He envisioned the center as a museum, telling the lost and forgotten stories of Frederick’s Black community. That is according to AARCH member, Barbara Thompson.

In an email to WYPR, Thompson said the total cost of the project could not be shared at this time. The project involved contributions from the Ausherman Family Foundation, Community Foundation of Frederick County, Delaplaine Foundation, as well as others, Thompson explained.

The work has taken over five years, though the idea began with AARCH’s founding in 2001, Thompson said. City of Frederick Mayor Michael O’Connor signed a lease with AARCH in 2020, turning over the keys to the building that would later become the heritage center.

The grand opening itself will take place on Saturday, Oct. 17 at 2 p.m. at 125 E. All Saints St.

Grand Opening

Walking in the door, guests will see a timeline ranging from the 1600’s to the modern day, Thompson explained. Exhibits will focus on everything from voting rights to the importance of African American churches. “I could go on and on and on, but I don’t want to spoil it because I want people to come and see it first hand,” Thompson said.

The center will feature a theater displaying documentaries AARCH has created over the years. One of these, known as The Tale of the Lion, tells the story of the Lincoln School’s staff during the time of Jim Crow. Formerly segregated, it was the county’s only public secondary school for the Black community.

Later on, Thompson explained, the center will have its own computer lab. There, county youth will be able to research their ancestry and learn about their genealogy.

Thompson chairs AARCH’s living treasures initiative, which according to their website, “preserves the stories of African American elders in Frederick County through oral history interviews.”

The initiative is creating a cookbook called Treasured Food for the Soul. It will feature a collection of recipes donated from the county’s 90+ African American community. Thompson said the center will host cooking events once the book is published. “People can come in and just connect with the living treasures, ask them about their journey, [and] connect with their historical knowledge of Frederick,” Thompson said. “Especially for the young people.”

Archival Work

From the very beginning, Thompson said, AARCH founder Bill Lee had a passion for collecting artifacts. As a historian, Lee knew these items would one day tell the stories of Frederick’s African American community.

From the Lincoln school came trophies, won by its basketball team, and old year books from as far back as 1946. Thompson said within those pages were graduating classes of all Black students, taught by all Black staff.

The artifacts span more than education, Thompson said, including a collection of everyday items from the late historian Kathleen Snowden, who lived in Newmarket Frederick. “The reason I get excited about everyday artifacts is that the young people need to see that we didn’t always have automatic washers…” Thompson said. “They need to see how those that have gone on were able to manage their households with items that, some of the time, the young people have never even heard of.”

The center also includes a replica of Petey Sewell’s barber shop, who according to Thompson, was one of the county’s first Black businessmen. The exhibit features a life-size depiction of the barber himself, as well as the original chair from his shop.