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Sumner Hall

Charles Sumner Hall – Grand Army of the Republic

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Sumner Hall is closed due to the inclement weather on Saturday, January 20th.

Welcome to Sumner Hall!  Located in historic Chestertown on Maryland’s Eastern
Shore, this is one of two existing African American G.A.R. buildings still
standing in the United States. Built circa 1908 and fully restored in 2014, it
serves today as a museum, educational site, performance stage, social hall, and
gallery.  Sumner Hall is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, funded by
donations and memberships.

We preserve Sumner Hall as a place of remembrance of the contributions of
African Americans who served in the U.S. Civil War by (1) honoring all African
American veterans of the U.S. Armed Services; (2) promoting an understanding of
the African American experience within the overall context of American history
and culture; and, (3) advocating for social justice and racial equity in all
aspects of civic life.

HOURS OF OPERATION: Sumner Hall is open to the public each Saturday of the year
from 10 AM – 1 PM unless otherwise noted on our website (www.sumnerhall.org).
Special visits may be arranged at other times by contacting us at
info@sumnerhall.org. 

We would like to hear from you! To contact us, please call 443.282.0023 and
leave a message or send us an email:  info@sumnerhall.org;  we will be back in
touch with you soon.  Or, you may contact us by mail.  Our address is 206 South
Queen Street, Chestertown, Maryland 21620



LEGACY DAY 2024 - AUGUST 16 - 18, 2024

CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS



KENT COUNTY AFRICAN AMERICAN VETERANS

Since the earliest call to arms, African Americans from Kent County, Maryland,
have answered. Sumner Hall was built by African American veterans from Kent
County, and is a place of remembrance. It is the honor and responsibility of
Sumner Hall to identify and recognize these local heroes. To date, the Sumner
Hall Veterans Project has identified over 1,700 African American men and women
from Kent County who have served in the military, beginning in the Revolutionary
War until the present day.   We invite the community to contact us with the
names of additional veterans so that we can add them to our honor roll. Please
also click on the button below to visit the honor roll, which consists of a
database documenting the military service of African Americans from Kent County.

African American Veterans from Kent County Database






CUSTODIANS OF THE COMMODORE COLLECTION

Sumner Hall is proud to share with our supporters the successful effort to
rescue and preserve a significant collection of local records.

“The Commodore Collection of original historical documents on the early
experiences of African Americans in Kent and Queen Anne’s counties is a rare
find,” according to Dr. Ruth Shoge, First Vice President of Sumner Hall. “The
documents, which are intellectually enriching, also evoke an emotional response
to the harsh reality of the lives of enslaved and freed Black people in 18th and
19th century America,” she continued. “It is very important to Sumner Hall that
this collection has been given to us in perpetuity. The ownership of this
collection is an honor and, in a special way, a homecoming for the memories of
our ancestors. This collection supports our mission of promoting an
understanding of the African American experience within the overall context of
American history and culture.”



Thanks to the efforts of local Black residents and the Starr Center for the
Study of the American Experience at Washington College, approximately 2,000
pages of documents were purchased from Dixon’s Crumpton Auction this spring. The
collection, named after Washington College’s first local Black alumnus, Norris
Commodore ’73, will belong to Sumner Hall but is being conserved and archived at
the school’s Miller Library. Mr. Commodore, who has deep roots here, gave
generously toward the acquisition cost and was joined by the Hedgelawn
Foundation, the Kent Cultural Alliance and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

The papers are being digitized as a part of the Chesapeake Heartland Project and
several can already be viewed online here. President of Sumner Hall’s Board of
Directors, Larry Wilson, says, “The Commodore Collection is a very meaningful
record of African American life and survival. I believe that it is very
important to know our history and to learn from the lives of our ancestors as we
work together for equal rights, justice and freedom in this county and across
the country. We look forward to having exhibits at Sumner Hall based on these
materials soon.”

Please note that the Commodore Collection is not currently exhibited at Sumner
Hall.  The artifacts are undergoing conservation at this time.

View The Commodore Collection




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