The story of Burkittsville is woven from the lives of thousands of people spread over three centuries of history. Those people include men, women, and children who spent portions or the entirety of their lives under the bondage of slavery and within a system that ignored their humanity in exchange for their economic output. A review of the documentation of many of the farms and properties around Burkittsville will reveal names of individuals placed next to a monetary valuation, a cruel rendering of the evils of slavery in the United States. To understand the full history of Burkittsville's Black community and the tremendous achievements made in the face of great disadvantages, we must begin with the harsh realities which defined this relationship for the first century and a half of our community's story. That begins by uncovering and restoring the humanity of individuals who for too long have been ignored.