Cheverly, a small town which borders Bladensburg just off Route 1 and is home to the historic Publick Playhouse, has chosen a new official town seal after removing an image of an historic plantation.

In 2020, the town council unanimously voted to get rid of its old seal, which had a drawing of the Mount Hope Plantation, and later hired the Neighborhood Design Center to come up with options for a new logo.

After a survey of town residents, the town decided recently on a clean spare design featuring the town name inside a circle and no iconography.

Built in stages starting around 1832, Mount Hope was a tobacco plantation run by Fielder Magruder Jr., a member of the prominent Maryland family that includes William Pinkney Magruder, the erstwhile namesake of what is now Driskell Park in Hyattsville.

The 716-acre plantation was home to a dozen enslaved people in 1840, 18 in 1850 and 25 in 1860, some of whom may have lived in the Mount Hope Slave Quarters Ruin, a historic site located just off Cheverly Circle.

Much of the property was later developed into the subdivision of Cheverly, which was incorporated in 1931. The town’s first mayor chose the image of Mount Hope for the seal.

Kayce Munyeneh, who promoted the idea as a council member and became the town’s first Black mayor last year, said the inspiration to replace the seal came after learned the history of the property and was supported by Mount Hope’s current owners.

The cost of changing the seal was offset by federal funds that paid for other budget items during the coronavirus pandemic.

Support the Wire and Community Journalism
Make a one-time donation or become a regular supporter here.