Smedberg Gate

Historical marker location:

580 Taylor Avenue, Annapolis, Maryland

( Marker can be reached from Taylor Avenue (Maryland Route 435) north of Melrose Street, on the right when traveling south.)

Maryland was home to the first African American woman to hold a patent: In 1885, Sarah E. Goode, an African American woman from Baltimore, became the first African American woman to hold a U.S. patent. Her invention was a folding cabinet bed, which was designed to save space in small apartments.