They know it?s old.
They know it?s in ruins.
They know it?s part of the historic Woodlawn Manor.
But the rest of what the Columbia Association knows about the deteriorating building it calls the Woodlawn Slave Quarters is based on a hunch.
Research is the association?s first step toward saving the structure on land it leases off Old Annapolis Road. Two new people have stepped up to the job.
“It reflects a slave quarters, but there?s a chance it just wasn?t,” said Karen Lubieniecki, a local history buff the association may hire to research the property.
Whatever the findings, the story of Howard County?s enslaved population could be told there, she said.
“We know a fair amount about the wealthy people who lived in the manor house, but we know little about the people who worked for them, and who were owned by them ? the enslaved population,” Lubieniecki said.
J. William Miller, a task force member, started researching the manor and said he believed the building was a slave quarter.
The Woodlawn Manor, dating back to the early 1800s, is one of two Columbia sites listed on the National Historic sites registry. The ruin recently maintained its spot on Preservation Howard County?s top 10 list of endangered historic buildings. Also, the Columbia Association said it believes archaeological secrets may be hidden in the 5 acres around the ruin.
Many people have taken stabs at historic research on the manor, but most of its story is untold.
“Starting this, we have to have a clear understanding on what the history is. There should be some historical research done to reach a comfort level. You have to be on firm ground as to what it might be,” said John Brunnett, a historical architecture consultant hired by the association to help restore the property.
Brunnett and Lubieniecki are expected to divvy up wills, titles, artifacts, census data and old newspapers, to find out the true tale of the building known as the Woodlawn Slave Quarters.
What happens next
» The next meeting of the Woodlawn Slave Quarters Task Force will begin at 6 p.m. May 31 at the Columbia Association headquarters on Wincopin Circle in Columbia.
