Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
Contact: Mark Drajem, (202) 297-5444, mdrajem@nrdc.org  

Groups Sue to Halt Beltway Toll Lane Project 

Sierra Club’s Maryland Chapter, Friends of Moses Hall, National Trust for Historic Preservation and NRDC file federal lawsuit. 

WASHINGTON (Oct. 11, 2022) – Public advocacy groups filed a federal lawsuit today to halt the Beltway and I-270 toll-lane project because of an insufficient and error-filled environmental review.  

This harmful and unnecessary project would increase air pollution while saddling drivers with millions of dollars in new tolls and failing to address the region’s traffic woes. The lawsuit seeks to stop additional action on the project – including any financial commitments to the toll-lane operator – while the errors in the environmental review are corrected. 

The Maryland Chapter of the Sierra Club, Friends of Moses Hall, National Trust for Historic Preservation, and NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) filed the lawsuit against the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) today in the Southern Division of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.  

The toll-lane project threatens two historic sites of national significance: the Morningstar Moses Cemetery in Cabin John and Plummers Island, the most studied island in the nation. 

“Before going any further with this project, the state must account for and protect the remains in Morningstar Moses Cemetery,” said Diane Baxter, a board member of Friends of Moses Hall. “State officials have acknowledged the damage done to historic Black communities when the Beltway was built in the 1960s, but that hasn’t stopped them from moving to harm our community once again.” 

The cemetery is the burial ground for Morningstar Tabernacle No. 88 of the Ancient United Order of the Sons and Daughters, Brothers and Sisters of Moses. The National Trust for Historic Preservation recognized the threats to the Morningstar Moses Cemetery and Moses Hall site by the proposed Beltway project by naming it one of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places.   

“The Morningstar Moses Cemetery literally holds history in its grounds, and it reminds us of the past cumulative injustices that were imposed on African American communities through highway infrastructure projects,” said Paul Edmondson, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. “The history of this resilient community must be protected, and we hope this lawsuit will help to achieve that.” 

The toll-lane project poses other threats, too.  

“Instead of rushing into a project that will lead to more pollution, more traffic and more profits for outside companies, Maryland should take a step back and reconsider its options,” said Josh Tulkin, director of the Maryland Chapter of the Sierra Club. “Given the climate crises before us, there are smarter, cleaner ways to improve our transportation system.” 

The lawsuit lays out deficiencies in the state’s environmental review, including: 

• The Federal Highway Administration and Maryland Department of Transportation ignored a requirement that they consider how additional traffic on the Beltway and 270 would increase soot (PM2.5) levels near the highway; 

• MDOT is not disclosing details about its claim that the toll lanes will reduce traffic, while the U.S. Department of Transportation said it could not confirm the “plausibility” or “validity” of MDOT’s traffic findings;   

• MDOT and FHWA acknowledge that people buried in the 130-year-old Morningstar Moses Cemetery could be in the path of the expanded highway, but failed to perform a simple assessment to determine if the project would, in fact, disturb any graves; 

• New piers for a widened American Legion Bridge would occupy Plummers Island, a site considered to be the most scientifically studied island in North America, which could worsen flooding and erosion on the island. Construction on the undeveloped island and the widened bridge’s shadow would damage research plots and rare plants.  

“Maryland residents are entitled to know the full story about this project before the state guarantees millions of dollars to a private company,” said Pete DeMarco, an attorney at NRDC, who is representing the plaintiffs in this lawsuit. “The state and federal government must consider its true costs to health, equity, historic preservation, and the environment.” 

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 10, 2021

Cabin John, MD

Press Contacts:

Alexandra Jones, PhD, RPA

Diane E. Baxter

morningstarmosescj@gmail.com

STATEMENT IN RESPONSE TO REPORT OF GEOPHYSICAL SURVEY

FOR MORNINGSTAR TABERNACLE NO. 88 MOSES HALL AND CEMETERY

RELEASED BY MDOT SHA WITH I-495 AND I-270 SECTION 106 MATERIALS

ON SEPTEMBER 8, 2021

Friends of Moses Hall (FMH) is pleased with MDOT SHA’s commitment to help identify the natural boundaries of the cemetery in contracting Dr. Timothy Horsley to conduct a geophysical survey of portions of the cemetery and the existing state right-of-way. 

FMH appreciates the thoroughness of Dr. Horsley’s investigations and findings. The report and supporting materials shared with FMH will be helpful in the future stewardship of this historic burial ground. The report findings also led to MDOT SHA’s recently announced decision not to extend the managed lanes footprint into either the cemetery/hall site or the adjacent State right-of-way. 

While our report review is ongoing, we do have initial concerns. 1) The cemetery boundary remains incompletely established with respect to the proposed Limits of Disturbance. 2) Additional non-invasive archaeological investigations are needed to determine whether additional graves are located to the north of the Moses Hall foundations, including the portions of the adjacent State right-of-way that were not surveyed. 3) While FMH notes that MDOT SHA has stated a commitment to avoid “ground impacts,” physical avoidance of this historic site does not equate to evasion of all impacts, such as noise and visual impacts, nor does it address environmental justice concerns. 

The number of potential burials in the portions of the cemetery surveyed was stunning news. Dr. Horsley’s report “indicated the location of 189 probable burials, and suggest a further 188 possible burials, the majority of which are seen to be arranged in rows. This total of 377 is likely lower than the actual total number of graves present.” Additionally, the report revealed “some 14 probable unmarked burials” and “as many as 34 burials are suggested in total” in the MDOT SHA right-of-way to the north of the cemetery property. The findings suggest substantially more graves than previous historical research and surface inspection had indicated. This raises questions about the full extent of burials. The findings also elevate the possibility that the cemetery is much older than previously thought. 

MDOT SHA has demonstrated its ability to engage with the stakeholder community, contract subject matter experts, and address impacts to this historic African American site, and we look to its continued commitment to build upon this success. FMH will continue to review the report materials and will submit formal comments before the end of the 30-day Section 106 comment period.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

June 3, 2021

Cabin John, MD

Press Contacts:

Alexandra Jones, PhD, RPA

Diane E. Baxter

morningstarmosescj@gmail.com

Morningstar Tabernacle No. 88 Order of Moses Cemetery and Hall Site

Named One of the Most Endangered Historic Places in U.S.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation has named the Morningstar Tabernacle No. 88 Order of Moses Cemetery and Hall site in Cabin John, Maryland one of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places of 2021. 

“Saving the Morningstar Moses Cemetery and Hall site is how we make good on promises to expand our infrastructure in an equitable way without further destruction of communities of color. Past disregard for the heritage of the community of Gibson Grove in transportation projects has already resulted in the loss of an important part of our full American story.  This endangered listing challenges us to do the right thing today as we expand our infrastructure, so there will be no additional wrong to correct in the future, and it also calls attention to the threats facing African American cemeteries across the country.”

– Katherine Malone-France, Chief Preservation Officer, National Trust for Historic Preservation

Morningstar Tabernacle No. 88 Order of Moses Cemetery and Hall was established around 1885 alongside a post-Emancipation Black settlement known as Gibson Grove in Cabin John, Maryland. Residents, some of whom had been formerly enslaved, established a local benevolent society to care for the sick and destitute, bury the deceased, and provide overall support to the local Black community during Jim Crow and Segregation – when social and institutional services were very limited or largely unavailable to the Black community.

 In an act of racial injustice, interstate highway construction in the 1960s ran through the Gibson Grove community and took a portion of the cemetery site. Today, foundations are all that remain of its Moses Hall, and the planned expansion of the Washington, D.C.-area Capital Beltway further threatens the cemetery, where known burials span from 1894 to 1977.

A coalition of neighbors, descendants, and others experienced in archaeology, genealogy, historic preservation, research, and advocacy organized Friends of Moses Hall in 2020 to lead the effort to save this place by advocating that new Beltway construction avoid the cemetery. Friends of Moses Hall aims to preserve the site as a hallowed resting place and as an important African American historical site.

“Friends of Moses Hall is honored that this special place has been designated one of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places,” said archaeologist Alexandra Jones, PhD, RPA. “It is our hope that this recognition will help call national attention to past racial injustice and further support our efforts to protect and preserve this important African American resource.”

“My family is deeply blessed knowing that this sacred place has been recognized. We pray that those who have been laid to rest may remain at rest and undisturbed forever,” stated Morningstar Tabernacle No. 88 Order of Moses descendant Montgomery Crawford. 

Morningstar Tabernacle No. 88 Order of Moses descendant Diane E. Baxter shared, “My family is honored to know there are those who care enough to select the final resting place of my family members and so many others as an 'Endangered Place.' They can now most assuredly rest in sweet peace forever.” 

The Morningstar Tabernacle No. 88 Order of Moses Cemetery and Hall site, deemed eligible for the National Register of Historic Places by state and county officials, still exists, with the foundation of Moses Hall located in the cemetery. Thus far over 70 individual burials have been identified here, including community founder Sarah Gibson and Emma Jones, longtime housekeeper for Clara Barton in Glen Echo, MD and local midwife. Descendants of those buried at the Cemetery live locally and in nearby counties and are dedicated to preserving the property as a treasured historical resource for future generations.

https://www.friendsofmoseshall.org/

https://savingplaces.org/americas-most-endangered-historic-places