PRINTER'S NO. 2373
No. 378 Session of 2007
INTRODUCED BY YOUNGBLOOD, CRUZ, THOMAS, WATSON, MANN, BOBACK,
HARPER, HENNESSEY, JAMES, KORTZ, MANDERINO, MENSCH, MYERS,
PHILLIPS, READSHAW, HELM, MURT, CREIGHTON, GRUCELA AND
QUIGLEY, AUGUST 1, 2007
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, AUGUST 1, 2007
A RESOLUTION
1 Urging the Governor to form a commission or take other action to
2 study the naming of Negro Mountain and Mount Davis, adopt
3 names that accurately reflect the history of the region and
4 update related governmental agency brochures, plaques and
5 signs.
6 WHEREAS, Negro Mountain is approximately 30 miles long and is
7 located in the center of the Allegheny Plateau, spanning
8 Maryland and Pennsylvania; and
9 WHEREAS, For 150 years after the first colonies were
10 established, Negro Mountain was untouched by the settlers; and
11 WHEREAS, Treaties with the Indians in 1754 and 1758 forbade
12 occupancy west of the Allegheny Mountains; and
13 WHEREAS, The British and French developed political and
14 economic interest in the western territory during the mid-1700s;
15 and
16 WHEREAS, In 1756 during the French and Indian War, a skirmish
17 on Negro Mountain ensued between a band of volunteers led by the
18 English-born pioneer Thomas Cresap and the Indians; and
1 WHEREAS, Cresap wrote an account of the expedition for Ben
2 Franklin's "Pennsylvania Gazette" of June 17, 1756, and said "An
3 old Negro presented his gun at [the Indians]"; and
4 WHEREAS, The "Maryland Gazette" reported on June 10, 1756,
5 that a "free Negro" was killed with the English; and
6 WHEREAS, An historical report of the account stated: "While
7 crossing the Negro Mountain, a party of Indians fired upon them
8 and mortally wounded one of the Negroes, the strongest man in
9 the company. A piece of a hollow log was found and placed over
10 the Negro to shelter him. Throwing it off, he said, 'Save
11 yourselves and never mind me; I shall die soon'"; and
12 WHEREAS, It is said that the Negro Mountain took its name
13 from this circumstance; and
14 WHEREAS, In 1882 J. Thomas Scharf stated in "History of
15 Western Maryland" that the man's name was Nemesis and that he
16 was Cresap's servant; and
17 WHEREAS, The highest point of Negro Mountain, rising 3,213
18 feet, is in Pennsylvania and is the highest point in the State;
19 and
20 WHEREAS, The high point was officially recognized in 1921 and
21 named Mount Davis after John N. Davis, the settler who once
22 owned the land; therefore be it
23 RESOLVED, That the Governor form a commission or take other
24 action to study the naming of Negro Mountain and Mount Davis and
25 adopt names that accurately reflect the history of the region
26 and the heroism displayed by the African American in the Negro
27 Mountain conflict of 1756; and be it further
28 RESOLVED, That all related brochures, plaques and signs
29 accurately reflect the facts of this heroic historical event.
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