Nathaniel Hopkins, affectionately known in Talbot County as "Uncle Nace," was born enslaved near here in 1831. After leaving his owner, Percy McKnett, and serving in the United States Colored Troops during the Civil War, he returned to assist newly freed blacks in southern Talbot County. In 1878, he helped establish the county's first school for black children. He also helped establish an Emancipation Day celebration in Talbot County marking the adoption by popular vote of Maryland's new state constitution on November 1, 1864, which abolished slavery in Maryland and made it the first slave state to voluntarily free its slaves by popular vote. Trappe's Emancipation Day celebration began as a parade with local residents and later drew participants from Delaware and New Jersey, growing to include church services, speakers, food, games, music, and a parade led by Hopkins in full U. S. Army uniform with gold epaulets, a colorful sash, and a sword. After Hopkins's death on February 22, 1900, Trappe's black citizens continued the celebration he began as Nace Hopkins Day.