ST. AUGUSTINE SCHOOL — A quiet country intersection south of Chesapeake City once hummed with activity during the school year. But today, only an occasional passing vehicle interrupts the sounds of nature in an area surrounded by horse farms and fields. A school was built here by John Conrey, who received a contract of $488…
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President Kennedy Unveiled Mason Dixon Marker
Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon arrived in Philadelphia to begin surveying the Mason Dixon Line on Nov. 15, 1763. Two hundred years later on Nov. 14, 1963, President John F. Kennedy, Governor Elbert N. Carvel, and Governor Millard F. Tawes stood on a platform situated on the historic line. The president and many other officials…
Union Hospital Nurses Served on the Battlefield During World War I
During the first fifteen years of the 20th century, most Cecil Countians lived tranquil lives, far removed from growing tensions in distant Europe and the terrible impact of deadly epidemics. However, one group of young ladies preparing to become healthcare professionals at the end of the horse and buggy era would soon learn about these…
A Halloween Prankster’s Tradition in Rising Sun — The Outhouse
By Ed Okonowicz Rising Sun Outhouse, an article by Ed Okonowicz — At a lot of places on Mischief Night, teenagers playfully soap car windows and toss corn at neighbors’ homes. But years ago, according to one long-time resident, during Halloween week in peaceful Rising Sun, “All hell would break loose.” To hear Cecil County…
Haunted Nights at the Cecil County Detention Center
By Ed Okonowicz The tiny peninsula that formed where the Little Elk Creek and the Big Elk Creek meet southwest of Elkton is an interesting geographical and historical site. The land near the convergence of the two streams attracted the attention of the Cecil County government, which decided to build a new detention center on…
SAM GOLDWATER NAMED TO NATIONAL FIRE HERITAGE CENTER
Sam Goldwater of Elkton has been named as the new Chair of the National Fire Heritage Center Board of Trustees. The National Fire Heritage Center is the nation’s archive for historic documents, and other perishables related to fire protection. These perishables include Art and artifacts Audio Books Charts and graphs Documents Maps Photography Reports Video…
Mount Zoar, an African American Community Near Conowingo
In far northwestern Cecil County, two miles below the Mason-Dixon Line, a small, free African American community, Mount Zoar, was settled in the mid-19th century. The village included about a dozen homes, a church, a school, and a cemetery. It thrived for generations, and today, traces of this once-resilient hamlet remain. These include the AME…
North East Firefighter to be added Memorial Wall
The name of a fallen North East Fire Company firefighter who died in the line of duty 55 years ago will be added to the Maryland Fire Rescue Services Memorial Wall of Honor during ceremonies in June 2019. Stewart W. Godwin, 56, died on Dec. 8, 1963, after collapsing at the scene of the plane…
Cecil County Lynchings – A Dark Chapter in the Past
As the Maryland Lynching Memorial Project and the Reginald Lewis Museum are holding a day of remembrance, reflection and reckoning on Oct. 13, 2018, we are resharing some 2007 research we did on Cecil County lynchings. This statewide conference is “meant to address our collective state history of white racial terrorism against African Americans.” the…
Labor Day in Cecil County
Labor Day became a federal holiday in 1894. This occasion to honor the contributions of the working person to the nation, also quickly became a day of relaxation and enjoyment, as the warm days of the summer season quickly drew to a close. All over Cecil County Labor Day was a time to relax, enjoy…