Mutual Memorial Cemetery, established in 1873 in Sandy Spring, Maryland, is the final resting place of more than 300 African American citizens from the surrounding area whose lives collectively spanned from the American Civil War to the election of the first African American U.S. president. Its gravestones reflect the joys, struggles, determination, and progress of an emerging African American community. Sharp Street United Methodist Church, established in 1822 and regarded as the oldest Black church in Montgomery County, was associated with the cemetery’s founding and operation, and the women of its Sisters Mutual Aid Society cared for the cemetery and supported bereaved families; Cedar Mount Cemetery was later renamed Mutual Memorial Cemetery in their honor. The 2.4-acre cemetery was developed in three sections, with the oldest near the entrance and the newest in the most recent area, and its headstones span more than 140 years, from hand-carved wood, concrete, soapstone, or slate markers to commercially made marble and granite gravestones. Remus Q. Hill, the son of former slaves, a carpenter, and a trustee of Sharp Street Methodist Church, was involved in land purchases for the sanctuary. The cemetery’s restoration has continued into the 21st century through the Mutual Memory Cemetery Foundation of Sandy Spring, Inc., established in 2009 for long-term care, and a 2017 grant funded restoration of 124 of its more than 300 gravestones. This history grew from the broader development of Sandy Spring’s Black community after Quakers settled the area in 1713 with enslaved Africans, later reversed their stance on slavery, and began freeing those in bondage; in 1781 the Quaker Monthly Meeting imposed disownment on members still holding slaves, in 1806 Richard Thomas freed 112 slaves, many of whom settled in Sandy Spring, in 1854 land was conveyed for a burial ground and church where Sharp Street United Methodist Church remains, and in 1864 Maryland made slavery illegal.