The Benjamin Banneker Historical Park & Museum is a Baltimore County Park that honors the land and legacy of a Free African American man who lived during the 1700s. Located on 142 acres in the Patapsco River Valley, the Park & Museum offers public and private programs focused on Banneker’s life and his relationship to the land he inhabited.
Benjamin Banneker was born as a free African American on November 9, 1731 to Mary and Robert Bannaky. When he was six years old, his parents purchased 100 acres of land called “Stout” in present day Oella, Maryland, and put his name on the deed so that he could maintain his freedom throughout his life. Banneker’s thirst for knowledge led him to become an accomplished mathematician, astronomer, author of six published almanacs, abolitionist, and surveyor of Washington, D.C. When Banneker was not star gazing, you could find him maintaining his one hundred acre tobacco farm, orchard, and apiary. Today his property serves as the location of the Benjamin Banneker Historical Park and Museum, part of the Baltimore County Department of Recreation and Parks.
