’There he was hanged from a locust tree’: Identity of 3 DC-area lynching victims revealed by Maryland commission

Dick Uliano | duliano@wtop.com
October 6, 2024, 5:35 AM


The Maryland Lynching Truth and Reconciliation Commission held a public hearing hosted by the Universities at Shady Grove in Montgomery County, Maryland, on Oct. 5, 2024. (Courtesy MLTRC)

Montgomery County received a painful history lesson this weekend. On Saturday, the Maryland Lynching Truth and Reconciliation Commission held a public hearing to discuss the three documented lynchings that happened in the county between 1854 and 1933.

George Washington Peck of Poolesville, was reportedly found struggling with a white girl and accused of attempted rape before he was lynched in 1880.

“An angry white mob soon gathered, seizing Mr. Peck, forcing a noose around his neck and dragging him to the vacant lot across from the Poolesville Presbyterian Church. There he was hanged from a locust tree,” said Maya Davis, chair of the Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture.

She explained to visitors in attendance at the Universities at Shady Grove that, at the time, Montgomery County was a rural area consisting of small farms raising corn and tobacco. The population was about 25,000, a third of whom were Black.

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Dick Uliano
Whether anchoring the news inside the Glass-Enclosed Nerve Center or reporting from the scene in Maryland, Virginia or the District, Dick Uliano is always looking for the stories that really impact people's lives.
duliano@wtop.com