Abraham Hall was built in 1889 by members of the Benevolent Sons and Daughters of Abraham as a lodge for a fraternal organization chartered in 1877 that provided emergency financial assistance and death benefits to African Americans when such insurance was otherwise unavailable to them. In Rossville, an African American community named for early settler Augustus Ross, the hall served over the years as a meeting place, landmark, and community touchstone, and it became the largest and most substantial building in the community. Ross had purchased one of twelve parcels from land formerly owned by Mark Duvall, and the Benevolent Sons and Daughters of Abraham bought the largest parcel, 3.85 acres. After Queens Chapel burned in the 1890s, church services were held in Abraham Hall until 1901, and before the construction of Muirkirk School in 1922 it also served as a schoolhouse. Its restoration as the first Black historic site in Prince George’s County to be restored with public funds marked a significant milestone in the county’s historic preservation efforts, and Abraham Hall is owned and operated by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission.
