Meyersdale Public Library - Rural African Americans of the Allegheny Mountains

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  • Date = 1890-1920

About This Collection

These 18 photographs are part of a larger Meyersdale Public Library Progressive Era image collection. The photographs selected for display as part of that larger PA Photos and Documents collection are significant because they provide a broad overview of life immediately before, during and after the Progressive Era in the Allegheny Mountains region (mostly Somerset County, Pennsylvania, and northern Maryland). These 18 photographs in particular - part of a larger glass negative collection housed within the library's archives - portray African American families and individuals in portraits, natural and workplace settings, and also within the town of Meyersdale itself. A significant African American community lived, worked and worshiped in Meyersdale during the late 1800s and through the first several decades of the 20th century.
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Brick making plant
African Americans, Brick industry, Bricks
Workers at a brick making plant gather for a photo with tools of their trade; apparently family members were also included in the photo since there are very young children and a woman with an infant. Older children and adults sat on rows of steps above the younger children. The plant was a wooden building with three doorways and six windows in this facade. There are two African American men in the photo. The grass in front of the platform was mostly weeds and was overgrown; railroad tracks are at the base of the hill. Approximately 60 people were at the plant for this photo. 9 1/4 x 7 1/2 in. black and white photograph.
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