A Place For Progress

Historical marker location:

Avalon, Maryland

( Marker can be reached from the intersection of Washington Boulevard (U.S. 1) and South Street.)

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.