William Goldsborough, Alexander Keech, and the Maryland Agricultural College

Abstract

The Maryland Agricultural College (MAC) was founded in 1856 to promote agricultural reform and train the next generation of farmers in new farm management and technology practices. It was the first iteration of the University of Maryland, College Park. It sits on the land of Charles Benedict Calvert, a wealthy enslaver and politician.

Many of the MAC’s earliest trustees, like William Goldsborough, were also wealthy “planters” and enslavers. The school was originally surrounded by the lands of several “planters” and enslavers, including Alexander Keech. The MAC was engulfed by the institution of slavery, both geographically and administratively. The research for this poster illuminates ways in which the land that the MAC sits on tells the stories of its connections to the slave economy. This research offers an exploration into the lives of the enslavers that interacted with the MAC (particularly William Goldsborough and Alexander Keech), and the lives of the individuals that they enslaved.