Gwendora Reese, 2019 Grand Marshal photo courtesy Washington Post

by: Rande Davis and Skip Etheridge

  Gwendora Reese: The 2019 Poolesville Day
Grand Marshal

The 2019 Poolesville Day Committee has announced its Grand Marshal to lead
this year’s parade on September 21.

Gwendora Reese, a direct descendent of Sugarland, one of the African American communities that surround Poolesville, which was originated and owned by freed slaves, was chosen for her years of service to preserving the important history of those proud and industrious people.

Ms. Reese’s great-grandfather, Phillip Johnson, was one of the original members of the Sugarland community which is located off of Sugarland Road. He had been a former slave who had shared many firsthand accounts of slave life with her while she was still a child. Although very few Sugarland descendants reside in the Poolesville community today, Ms. Reese felt a need to honor the memory of him, the community, and their many impressive achievements. Consequently, in 1995, Ms. Reese established the Sugarland Ethno-History Project and began the painstaking process of documenting the history of the freed slaves
in the community and their historical impact on the Town of Poolesville.

Even though most of the original residents were uneducated and unable to read or write, Ms. Reese has been able to scribe their oral history from decedents as well as from documents maintained by St. Paul’s Community Church. In 1996,
the church officially became a National Historic site.

To date, Reese and supporters of the project have collected more than a
thousand artifacts and documents. When the National Museum of African
American History and Culture opened in 2015, pictures from the Sugarland
community were selected to represent slave and post-slavery life. 

Special appearance by the Washington Nationals' Mascots - George Washington and Screech .