Remembering the Frederick Hornet

By Dorian Young//

Frederick was home to the first African American newspaper to publish in western Maryland.

According to The Frederick News-Post, The Frederick Hornet was published from 1906 to 1915. The newspaper office was originally in a two-story building behind 127 W. All Saints St. and later moved to 14 S. Bentz St., according to the FNP.

Unfortunately, both sites have been demolished and there are no markers to commemorate the newspaper’s history.

The Frederick Hornet was published every Saturday and reported both on happenings in Frederick and national and international events, according to the FNP.

The FNP credited Edward Mitchell Johnson, a Trinidad immigrant whose reasons for coming to Frederick remain unknown, with starting The Frederick Hornet. Johnson operated the paper from his home at 14 S. Bentz St.

The Frederick News-Post stated that the only known item that remains to document the Black newspaper is a single copy held by the African American Heritage Society of Frederick County. A Burkittsville family found the newspaper, along with other African American antiquities, in the attic of their home.

The Frederick Hornet was advertised to the public as being the only Black newspaper located in western Maryland. Unfortunately, the research and documentation of Frederick’s Black press is practically nonexistent.

The single remaining copy of The Frederick Hornetsaid a one-year subscription to the newspaper cost $1, while a six-month subscription cost 60 cents.