A spokesperson for the Maryland State Highway Administration confirmed that it removed four road signs pointing the way to Negro Mountain in Pennsylvania.
Maryland motorists first noticed the signs along both Interstate 68 and U.S. Alternate Route 40 disappeared sometime in April, though sources at the SHA at first provided no explanation, according to Cumberland Times-News.
Maryland SHA spokeswoman Lora Rakowski finally confirmed Sunday that the state government had indeed taken the signs down for the sake of racial sensitivity, saying in a statement, “We continue to work with the Association for the Study of African American Life and History and the local community to better understand the interests of all stakeholders.”
Historians remain uncertain how the 2,740-foot peak, which lies along the Allegheny mountain range in Elk Lick Township, Pennsylvania, about 30 miles south of Somerset, earned its name. Some speculate that it was named for a black man who was killed fighting a band of Native Americans, and others posit that lynchings took place there.
