Winters Lane on a Winter's Day

As I stood outside the entrance to what will soon be the new African-American Mini-Museum at 79 Winters Lane, I was doubtful I had arrived at the correct address.

The museum, once the residence of Samuel and Ida Torsell, is a simple two-story structure, not unlike most of the other homes lining this first block of Winters Lane.  Earnest improvements are obvious in the newly replaced downspouts and white painted porch and window frames, yet this structure resembles a family home more than a public museum.

I was relieved of my doubt by the approach of Louis Diggs, a local historian and author of many books detailing the lives of African Americans in Catonsville and its surrounding communities. In 2010 Louis and other members of the nearby Grace A.M.E Church formed a committee to establish the Samuel and Ida Torsell Mini-Museum in the hopes of preserving artifacts, photographs and other historical documentation depicting the life and experiences of African Americans living in the historic African American community of Winters Lane.

In the 140 years since the end of the Civil War in 1865, freed slaves and their descendants have settled and expanded Winters Lane, establishing a strong black community of families and bloodlines. Those original former slaves left their descendents a legacy of pride in their heritage; a past rich in oral history, but often lacking documentation.

By asking the local community for personal records, the Mini-Museum committee hopes to take these individual chapters and compile them into a story detailing the history of the residents of Winters Lane.

I was lucky to meet a few of the committee members*. Anita Maybin, Nesbit Parker, Harriett Dunlap and Shirley Diggs have contributed much of their time to establish this museum and hope that their efforts will encourage young people to take an interest in preserving this important piece of local history.

Anita Maybin said she feels it’s vital to inform the next generation of the value of the museum’s mission.

“This is why we’re doing what we’re doing,” Maybin said. “To make the young people aware of what was, what has been, and hopefully, what will be.”

Louis Diggs hopes that the Samuel and Ida Torsell museum will inspire the development of museums in other local black boroughs. In 1992, the planning office of Baltimore County defined 40 areas around the county as African-American communities.

Of these 40, only Catonsville’s Winters Lane has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places, helping to ensure that the community remains intact, a step Diggs notes is “critical in stopping the erosion of our community.”

Diggs is hopeful that, in time, more of these 40 areas will join the Winters Lane community on the National Register. The development of mini-museums in these towns can only aid in this effort.

“East Towson, Lutherville, Granite, Halethorpe- so many of the African Americans within these communities have untold stories,” Diggs says. “Many people are not aware of the rich black history in these towns.”

“That’s the value of these mini-museums; to provide a close look at life in these areas.”

Museum committee members are grateful for the help that local organizations have provided. Grace A.M.E. Church, the current owner of the Torsell home, was the first organization to step up by donating the house for use as a museum.

The Catonsville Heritage foundation was the first to contribute monetarily, with a donation of $1,000. Other organizations, such as Preservation Maryland and the Baltimore County Historic Trust, have funded many of the needed renovations and repairs.

But many structural improvements are still needed, and the committee is seeking additional monies to allow for further renovations and repairs.

Stepping inside the museum I was immediately surrounded by faces from both past and present. The Torsell family features prominently in many of the photos in the first floor rooms.

Sam and Ida Torsell played an integral role in developing the community along Winters Lane, contributing great amounts of their time to Grace A.M.E. church. Among other endeavors, Sam Torsell helped to form the local African American Elks Lodge, whose yearly parades were great entertainment for Catonsville residents.

Other photos feature graduates from Banneker High School, as well as documents from the Catonsville Co-op Association, an organization formed in 1890 with the aim of helping blacks pool their money in order to purchase their own homes.

All of these artifacts help to paint the picture of this community, filling in gaps of knowledge with details of day-to-day life along Winters Lane.

As I left the museum, I turned to take one last look at the small, brown home soon to be named the Samuel and Ida Torsell Mini-Museum. I realized that my initial impression- that this structure was too informal to house a museum- was totally incorrect. These walls, imprinted with more than a century of memories, provide the perfect embrace for the intimate family portraits housed within.

*The Samuel and Ida Torsell Mini-Museum committee members include: Brenda Jones (President), Anita Maybin (Secretary), Nesbit Parker, William (Bubby) Foreman, Augustus Brown, Harriett Dunlap, Shirley Diggs, Phyllis King, Margo Larson, Louis S. Diggs