Maryland state officials have removed a historical marker from near historic Fort Garrison that said the building was erected to protect against “hostile Indians.”
David Buck, a spokesman for the Maryland Historical Trust, said the marker was removed from near the 17th-century stone fort after the agency received a complaint about its wording, the Baltimore Sun first reported Wednesday.
“The language on this particular marker dates back to 1934, when the original sign was erected a short distance away,” Mr. Buck wrote in an email.
“It was reproduced and moved to its current site in 1968,” he said. “As a result of the inquiry, the marker was removed while the wording and building history are under review.”
Reached by The Washington Times, the Maryland Department of Planning said that records indicate the agency received a single complaint about the marker before it was quietly removed April 22.
Fort Garrison was built about 1695 in Stevenson, an unincorporated community in Baltimore County.
The original signage said the fort served “as headquarters for a troop of mounted rangers to patrol paths from the Patapsco to the Susquehanna as a protection against hostile Indians.”
Bishop Aubrey Harley of Healthy Choice Ministries raised concerns about the signage with local lawmakers a few months ago, The Sun reported.
“As I begin to read this sign, I say ’Hostile? That’s a little backwards,’” Mr. Harley said, according to the newspaper. “Subjugating the people and making them look like they’re not human is not justified at all.”
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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