Show notes
On this episode of the podcast, Devin and Lauren were able to attend the unveiling of the brand-new Garnet Douglass Baltimore historical marker at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy along with Bill Pomeroy himself. Garnet Douglass Baltimore was the first African American graduate of RPI and went on to a long and very successful career as a civil and landscape engineer. Interviewees: Dr. La Tasha A. Brown, Director of Community Relations at RPI Unveiling Ceremony Speakers: Bill Pomeroy, founder of the William G. Pomeroy Foundation and Dr. Martin A. Schmidt, President of RPI Marker of Focus: Garnet Baltimore, Rensselaer County Devin Lander and Lauren Roberts by the Garnet Baltimore marker. Photo courtesy of Lauren Roberts. Garnet Douglass Baltimore. Image courtesy of the Hart Cluett Museum William G. Pomeroy speaking at the Garnet Douglass marker dedication, April 15, 2025. Photo courtesy of Lauren Roberts. William G. Pomeroy speaking at the Garnet Douglass marker dedication, April 15, 2025. Photo courtesy of Lauren Roberts. Further Reading: Kenneth Aaron, “Troy Street Paved with Family Pride,” Albany Times Union, February 11, 2021. RPI Alumni Hall of Fame. “Garnet Douglass Baltimore, 1859-1946,” The Cultural Landscape Foundation. “Garnet Douglass Baltimore,” Black Past. Suzanne Spellen, “Garnet Douglass Baltimore: Troy’s Landscape Master,” New York Almanac. “The History of Oakwood Cemetery,” Oakwood Cemetery. Teacher Resources: Hart Cluett Museum, Educator Resources Follow Along: Devin & Lauren Welcome to a New York Minute in History. I'm Devin lander, the New York State historian, and I'm Lauren Roberts, the historian for Saratoga County. Lauren Roberts: On this month's episode, we're taking you to a brand new historic marker located at one oh 5/8 Street in the city of Troy, which is part of Rensselaer County. The sign is located at the top of an elaborate granite staircase known as the approach, which connects the city of Troy to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, better known as RPI. And the text reads, Garnett, Baltimore first black RPI graduate class of 1881 lifelong Troy resident, civil engineer who designed Prospect Park and parts of Oakwood Cemetery, William G Pomeroy foundation. 2025. Now many of our listeners who are not from the Troy area may have heard of RPI, but they probably haven't heard the name Garnet Baltimore. So let's start off with talking a little bit about who he was and how he came to be the first black graduate at RPI. Devin Lander: Well, let's start with his name, Garnett, Douglas, Baltimore. So he was from a very prominent African American, free black family in Troy. His father, Peter was a barber and also very active in community life in the city. He was also a member of the Underground Railroad and was an abolitionist, of course, and very involved with several of the most prominent abolitionists in the state and nation at the time, including Henry Highland Garnet, who was a legendary preacher and an abolitionist based in Troy at the time, and also was associated with Frederick Douglass. So that's where we get the name Garnet Douglas Baltimore. He's named after Henry Highland Garnet and Frederick Douglass. And even going farther back, his grandfather, Samuel Baltimore, was born enslaved and sought his freedom as a soldier in the American Revolution. He was promised to be free if he had fought on the side of the Americans during the revolution. Unfortunately, after the war, he was denied his freedom by his master or owner at the time, and so he escaped and settled in Troy, which is how the Baltimore family came to the area. Now Garnet, Baltimore was born on Eighth Street, so not far from where the marker is, and right in front of the RPI campus, actually at 160 8th street in 1859 he was born, and he again, was born into a prominent African American family that really valued education and valued the ability of education to lift up a person and allow them to pursue a career and a life on their own. Lauren: Garnett studied at the William rich school and then went to Troy Academy, where he and his brother were the first black students accepted there. He had great grades, and because of the family's connections with prominent people around Troy, he was able to gain acceptance into RPI in 1870 seven's freshman class, and that's how he became the first black graduate in the year 1881 which then led to an amazing career as a civil engineer, and he remained in Troy for the rest of his life. Devin: One of the things about Garnett that we've learned is that beyond being, you know, the first African American RPI engineering graduate in 1881 was the fact that his career was long and varied, and evidence suggests that he received his first job the day after getting his engineering degree from RPI. And so that started a career in which he worked on a variety of projects around the area and around the state, including parts of the Erie Canal, the Oswego Canal bridges, other types of civil engineering projects like that. Now we were fortunate to go to the unveiling ceremony for the garnet Douglas Baltimore marker. And this entire project, the work, the research that was done to apply for the marker and to receive a marker from the Pomeroy foundation. Was done by Dr Latasha Brown at RPI, and we had the opportunity to speak with her after the event. Dr. La Tasha Brown My name is Dr La Tasha Brown, and it's my pleasure to be here. I have a PhD from the University of Warwick in Coventry, England, in comparative cultural studies from there, I Well, prior to that, I should say I have a master's degree in African New World Studies from Florida International University down in Miami, Florida, which is now African and African Diaspora Studies. That changed a couple of years ago. My undergrad is from bachelor's degree in history, minor in English, lit, from St Lawrence University in Canton, New York. So I've had quite a bit of experience up and down the East Coast in terms of educational development, and then I did a bit of study abroad in the Caribbean at the University of the West Indies. So throughout my career, I've had the privilege of learning and working across the US, the Caribbean and the UK. So I bring a particular perspective that is global to the work that I do right now at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute as the Director of Community Relations within the Office of Community Relations and Communications. Devin: Alright, well, let's, let's talk about, a little bit about Garnett Douglas, Baltimore. When did you first become aware of Garnett Douglas, Baltimore and how did that whole interest that you have start? La Tasha: Yes, I started at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute back in February of 2022 I was the Director of the Office of Multicultural Programs at the time, and everyone was talking about the first African American to graduate from RPI, Garnett, Douglas, Baltimore. And I'm like, Oh, okay. Neat. You know most institutions has the first African American. What year did he graduate? Most people did not know oh. And I was just like, oh. And I was just like, Okay, I need to find this out, just because it's the first and knowing that RPI has been around for quite some time, since 1824 which we just celebrated the Bicentennial, so I really wanted to sort of position him within sort of that historical moment. And so 1824 you know, RPI is founded, and then he graduates in 1881 and I was just like, This is amazing, regardless of the fact of, you know, putting the title or the adjective of him being a trailblazer, I'm like, that is just really interesting when you're thinking about the development of America and, you know, upstate New York, and him working in a space that is not heavily filled with African Americans, right? And so that was like the journey he was well connected. And I should say that his father was well connected. His father was part of the Underground Railroad. And so having the opportunity to be around sort of intellectuals, at the time, black and white, being around affluent people. Because, you know, Troy, New York, my understanding, was filled with billionaires, right? And so he had the opportunity to excel, but also be very much in the midst of change and creating opportunities for a lot of people, economically as well as socially. What was neat about him, and just in terms of his namesake, is that he was given the name after Reverend Highland Garnet Douglas. And so if you think about these two individuals that carry such significance within American history, you have to expect for him to be brilliant in whatever he attaches himself to. He went on to the William Ridge school for colored children in Troy. And then from there, he went to the Troy Academy, where he was there for five years with his younger brother. And then he was thinking about Harvard University. And then he decided to focus on STEM as we call it now, and apply to RPI. And so that started his journey, but thinking about physically where he was in Troy, he was right on 8th street, and so RPI was right above so every day, he was engaging with that academic space very intentionally, but also just being a passer by the education institution as it was being built out. The suspicion is that there was other African Americans, and I say other for small number, right? This is class size for 1881 was only 17. So there might have been one or two other individuals of African descent. We would know that they would be male as opposed to female, but we don't have that definitive answer as of yet. But you know, you know more work is to be done on his life. I wanted the marker just to sort of signify, not so much that he went to RPI, but to really mark the year, because everybody knew his name, you know, well known on campus at RPI, well known in the community, but to have that historical date that people can pass by and see constantly that was really important to have it at the approach that really came later. But with regards to the foundation and the process, I was concerned about what region I was located in, right? So when is the deadline? Because I was already going into the archives at RPI and looking at the various maps, and then going down to the, looking at their materials, looking at the materials online, but I didn't have a sense of what was his story, and so there was a lot of conversations that I was having with people that were intimately connected to his journey, that had documented in various ways, whether it's for political speeches, for the, you know, the various presidents, or just kind of folklore in the community. We had a Juneteenth event back in June of 2022 and it was a localized version that was to celebrate Garnet Baltimore, and it was at that moment I was just like, this would be a really good idea to have a historical marker for him. And so I went onto the website, I missed the deadline, and then I was just like, Okay, let me get this started. What is needed in terms of the primary and secondary sources. So I started to do a deeper dive in the archives at RPI, and having conversations with Jennifer and Tammy, who were the archivists at the time. And then, you know, it was everything from his academic records to what was he involved with in school in terms of extracurricular activities, because that shaped his world view. Who else was in the class, who was on the Board of Trustees? Because all of this is being shaped by the fact that he was the first How did he get into this space, right? You know, what was the political connection to the community and the capital region at large? And then knowing that his father was an affluent person in terms of, not just, you know, financial means, but also political connection that played a role. But then I also wanted to know, did he have any writings for himself, right? And he didn't. There was a lot of newspaper clippings that I was able to come across up and down the country of him visiting Ian. There's quite a bit in black newspapers announcing his visit, for obvious reasons, right? And then there was just a series of committees and councils that he was a part of in terms of being part of the community and volunteering, not just with RPI and the alumni network, just but beyond that. And then I realized I needed to have his birth certificate, his death certificate, and then going down to Troy and getting those records, and then looking at the records of where exactly was his house, because that was the big challenge. Was it on the side of RPI? Did RPI, you know, do they now own that property, or is it owned by the city? Because originally it wasn't going to be a marker just for him. Am, but it was a marker at the location of where his house was located. And then I had a lot of conversations with Christy at the Pomeroy Foundation, and she's just like, if there's not a stone or anything left, you can't put the marker there. And so it was a series of brainstorming like, so what is the real sort of draw between the campus, remembering him and the community, and then you have Prospect Park, Oakwood Cemetery, and then he's a true Trojan. And so it just seems fitting to have it at the approach, and then the history of the approach and the Rubin foundation, it just all came together about a year later, because, again, I missed the deadline, and then you have another job, though, I had another job, right? But to me, it was the process of utilizing the skills that I acquired, you know, as a result of getting my PhD, and then also not just looking at the race component, but like the cultural impact. How was he instrumental in creating community? And he was very much involved in community building and community change and providing access through his work as a as an engineer, and so that that was the process. And then I think it was November, the beginning and though the end of November, beginning of December, I got noticed that, you know, I was awarded the Pomeroy historical market grant, terribly excited. And then we had to figure out what was the proper wording, and that is where the challenge comes in, because it's a small space, and it's not a poem, right? And so you want to be as concrete in terms of delivery of the words, but also as impactful, because you know that people are going to see this for a really a long time, and this is possibly their first touch point into doing a deeper dive, not just into gardening deep Baltimore, but Oakwood cemetery, RPI, Troy. And then it opens up a bigger space to go down a rabbit hole of just knowledge and time and space, and so it's lovely to know that the marker is up at the approach. And that is not just an RPI experience, but it's a community experience. Devin: But I'm curious about so some of the logistics stuff with all of this, I know can be complex. With placing a marker in certain spots, was there a difficulty in placing it where it is now on the approach? La Tasha Brown It wasn't smooth sailing. It was a process, for sure. It's figuring out the foot traffic, right? Yeah. Logistics is, you know, who's gonna see this, you know, are we just looking at it from the standpoint of vehicles passing by? Are they gonna actually slow down? Not too long ago, RPI put in a crosswalk, and so that was the perfect locations you would, you know, travel up or down the approach, but more so traveling up the approach, and where the mark is located is right at the crosswalk, so you have to press the button and wait, and as you're waiting, you're now reading. And so that allows for not just the individuals that's standing at the cross walk to cross the street, but it also allows for the vehicle, the person's in the vehicle to then look at the marker themselves, because it's big…
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