Maryland County is located in the southeastern region of Liberia, a West African nation that recently had its first successful democratic elections after 14 years of civil unrest. It is one of the 15 counties in Liberia. Maryland County shares a common border with the Ivory Coast, separated only by the Cavalla River.
The capitol city of Harper has miles of beautiful beaches along its coastline. There is an abundance of fish, whales, dolphins and huge oysters. Prior to the civil war, Harper could also boast of one of the four major seaports that served as links for shipment and transportation of goods through out the country. The port was once called The Harper Shallow Port. It operated as a private entity from 1959 until the year 1972. At that time, the National Legislature passed an act renaming it The Port of Harper. Maryland County was home for a number of logging and wood processing companies doing business at the port.
Located on a cape, Harper City is also referred to as Cape Palmas, a name given it by Portuguese voyagers who first encountered the area when it was covered with groves of palms. By air, Harper City is one hour away from the nation’s capital of Monrovia and 15 minutes from Taboo, a border town of the Ivory Coast. As part of the redevelopment initiatives of the Johnson-Sirleaf government, major public works projects are underway to reconstruct roads connecting the county to other regions throughout the country.
Two other major commercial areas in Maryland County are Pleebo and Gedetarbo.
The Cavalla Rubber Plantation located at Gedetarbo along the Cavalla River was once the county’s biggest agro-business enterprise. Maryland County has one of the largest concentration of rubber plantations in Liberia. It is estimated that The Firestone Plantations Company planted over 12,000 acres of rubber from the time an agreement was signed with the Liberian Government in 1926, up to the time the company closed down operations in 1983. There were also several private rubber farms fully operating prior to the war. Recently representatives of the newly elected government of President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and its international partners have begun touring government-owned as well as private rubber farms to find ways to revive the rubber industry which could play a major role in improving the Liberian economy. That area was also home of a large oil palm plantation, the Decoris Oil Palm Company, a state-owned enterprise incorporated in 1979.
Pleebo, which is approximately 20 miles from Harper, is the second largest city in Maryland County. Pleebo City is now a major center of commerce with a concentration of merchants from all over the region, including the Ivory Coast. Residents of Pleebo once engaged in cultivation of sugar cane, cocoa and coffee, a commodity segment that could be revived during the ensuing post-war redevelopment period. Pleebo is also strategically located and serves as a corridor of the region’s gold mining industry.
Food
The two main staples are rice and cassava supplemented with plantains, breadfruit, and yams. Fish is the primary source of protein, supplemented with chicken, goat, land snails, and various types of meats procured from hunting. Local oils are produced from palm nuts in the interior and coconut on the coast. The county like most of the country gets an abundance of rainfall which makes the area quite fertile for producing a variety of fruits and vegetables as more resources for farming become available.
Education
Like all other counties in Liberia, Maryland County will need to revive it’s educational institutions from the primary up to the highest level. Once a major educational center with prestigious schools where students from all over the country sought quality education, there is now a need to retrain teachers, improve the curriculum and rebuild schools. Recently the President, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, launched a new educational initiative which includes prioritization of educating the girl child.
Culture
Various ethnic groups migrating to Maryland County starting as far back as 965 AD have influenced the culture in the region. The most dominant is that of the Grebo ethnic group, classified by ethnologists as a part of the Krau linguistic grouping. They are descendents of Gbobos who migrated from Sudan to West Africa. The name Grebo is an inflection of the word “Glebo” which means ‘those who survived the waters.”
The following are some unique practices, modes of dress and culinary habits:
Toh-Wree (Dorklor) – Traditionally, the Toh-Wree was performed to receive warriors returning from battle. Today it is performed at some burial ceremonies to honor the dead. The dance is more commonly called Dorklor, derived from the sounds of the drums used during performances.
Dah-Kpo (Knot) – Grebo style men’s attire with coat, tie and a lappa (wrap) tied around the waist in a thick knot worn with shoes and socks and a felt hat.
Henu – Palmbutter , Grebo style. Customarily eaten with rice, the dish is commonly referred to as Henu Gbla.
Translations:
Grebo---- English
Dahlo---- Cloth
Gbla---- Rice
Henu---- Palm Butter
Kpo---- Knot
Toh---- War
Wree---- Musical Instrument
Brief History
Migration to Maryland County began as far back as 965 AD. The early settlers formed small centralized chiefdoms along the Cavalla River and other parts of the interior. In 1701 the Glebos (Greboes) began to arrive from as far as the Sudan, settling along the seacoast.
In 1460 Portuguese sailors arrived in the lower Cavalla region. The Cavalla River was given its name by the Portuguese explorers because of an abundance of mackerels (called Cavalla in Portuguese) found in the river.
In 1827 the colony of Maryland was established at Cape Palmas by the Maryland Colonization Society for the resettlement of people of African descent, after slavery was abolished in the United States. Originally a branch of the American Colonization Society that founded Liberia in 1822, Maryland State Colonization Society decided to establish a new settlement of its own that could accommodate its emigrants and named it Maryland in Africa on February 12, 1834. The colony was granted statehood on February 2, 1841 and then independence on May 29, 1854..
On March 18, 1857 The State of Maryland was annexed as a part of the Republic of Liberia, after signing a treaty of Annexation with the Republic of Liberia.
Geography
There are 3 statutory districts in Maryland County:
- Barrobo/Karluway
- Pleebo-Sodoken
- Harper
Capital: Harper City (named after General Robert Goodloe Harper {1765-1825}of the American Colonization Society/US Congressman, South Carolina, 1795-1801 and US Senator, January 1816-December 1816.
Population: 107,100 - 2004 Census
Area: 5,350 Square Kilometers
Current County Leadership
Sie Teba Neufville-Superintendent
Ophelia Williams-Draper-Development Superintendent
Regina Sampson - Mayor of Harper City
Ralph Wisseh – Mayor of Pleebo
Moses K. Wah – Commissioner
The House of Representatives
David Gwiah Saydee – 1st District - Chairman, House Committee on Rules and Order
Bhofal Chambers – 2nd District
James Pobee Binney - 3rd District - Chairman, House Committee on Public Accounts and Expenditures
The Senate
Senator Gloria Musu Scott - Junior Senator - Chairman, Senate Committee on Executive Matters
Senator John Akkel Ballout - Senior Senator
Leadership of the Maryland County Legislative Caucus:
Senator Gloria Musu Scott - Chair
Representative David Saydee - Co-Chair
Representative James Binney - Secretary General
Representative Bhoffal Chambers – Treasurer
