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This afternoon at the Historical Society of Cecil County, Emily Kilby talked about mysteries, puzzles, and other wonderments from the past for the monthly winter lecture.   In the program, “Reconstructing 100 Ruins,” the retired magazine editor explained how clusters of crumbling stone ruins and other physical surviving evidence from centuries ago got her attention as she strolled the Fair Hill Natural Resources Management Area.  Curious about the narrative behind these old artifacts, Emily asked questions, but there were few answers.

The more she wondered about these bygone curiosities, the more convinced Emily became that she needed to look into the matter.  So the writer took a systematic, scholarly approach, an in-depth exploration of a previously unstudied subject in a scenic region of Cecil County.  Emily spent many weeks pouring over original, largely untapped source materials, such as old pictures, maps, court documents, census registers, and family papers, and these provided original insights, slowly revealing lost histories of abandoned properties within the Fair Hill Natural Resources Management area.

In this lively program attended by 50 people, she talked about the sparks that raised her interest, the chase for evidence from long ago, and the investigative methods that provided the evidence to piece together the puzzle of 100 ruins at Fair Hill.  The audience was engaged, and once the formal remarks wrapped up they had plenty of questions for the researcher.

Thank you, Emily Kilby, for an outstanding program.

The winter series takes place on the first Saturday of each month and on February 1^, 2014, Syl Woolford will talk about Early Black Methodist on Delmarva.

January 3, 2014 — An overnight snow storm dumped 6.5-inches of snow on Elkton and early this Friday morning the town was beginning to dig out.

An earlier post about an undergraduate thesis examining the desegregation of Cecil County Public Schools caused us to take a look at the last graduating class of George Washington Carver High School.

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The nine seniors that stepped forward and received their diplomas on June 8, 1964 at the George Washington Carver High School were the last class to graduate from the school.  On hand helping Principal Charles W. Caldwell and the staff at the commencement were Dr. Percy V. Williams, supervisor of pupil services with the Maryland Department of Education, and Walter J. Finn, assistant superintendent of Cecil County Schools.

Members of the final class were:  Edward Eugene Townley, class treasurer; Genevieve Yvonne Jones, class secretary; Bryant Thomas Wilson; Carolyn Ann Clark, Class President; Robert Henry Henson Jr., class vice-president; Barbara Ann Banks; William Sylvester Calm; Dorothy Marie Water; and Robert Marion Owens.

Principal Caldwell also retired that year after serving Cecil County 35 years.

Sources:  Cecil Whig and Cecil Democrat

Just before Christmas, I paused for a few minutes in the quiet Union Bethel Cemetery in Cecilton.  A chilling December breeze gently swept over this old burial ground, and as I gazed at monuments for soldiers, ministers, teachers, mothers, fathers, working people, and children, one particularly caught my attention.  It was a regulation tombstone issued to soldiers by the United States Government, and etched permanently into this memorial was the name George Douglass, Co., E., 24^th United States Colored Infantry.

I paused for a few moments to remember this man’s service in a long-ago war. While I lingered, nothing in this tranquil spot—noise, automobiles, or people—distracted me as I thought about this young soldier’s era. Curious about the private’s service to the country, I decided I would get some information after Christmas.

On February 23, 1865, George Douglass, the 19-year-old from Cecil County, volunteered to enlist in Co. E of the 24th regiment in Philadelphia, PA. After putting his mark, an X, on the muster forms, he was transferred to Camp William Penn. According to the enlistment papers, for serving the nation for one year, he was entitled to a $100 bounty.

Private George Douglass died on March 25, 1926.  The headstone was shipped to his son Linwood Douglass of Cecilton in August 1940.

 

As a new year gets underway, the Historical Society of Cecil County’s winter speakers series continues on January 4, 2014, when Emily Kilby talks about “Reconstructing 100 Ruins.”

Several years ago the retired magazine editor’s curiosity was aroused by clusters of crumbling stone ruins and walls in the Fair Hill Nature Resources Management Area.  What was their story?  Who were the people living here?  What sorts of lives did residents of this corner of northeastern Maryland live before the small settlements vanished and the public roads and commercial establishments serving them disappeared.  The more she wondered about these historical curiosities the more convinced she became that she needed to look into this matter.

So the writer took a systematic, scholarly approach, an in-depth exploration of a previously unstudied subject in a scenic region of Cecil County.  Emily spent many weeks pouring over original, largely untapped sources materials, such as old pictures, maps, court documents, census registers, and family papers, and these provided original insights, revealing the lost histories of abandoned properties within the Fair Hill Natural Resources Management area.

Join Emily Kilby on January 4, at 2:00 p.m. at the Historical Society of Cecil County, 135 E. Main St., in Elkton for this free program that brings Fair Hill’s 19^th and early 20^th century world black to life.  As she presents her findings about home-sites, industries, and families whose traces remain hidden in the park, the writer will also share stories about the conventional and serendipitous research methods she used to discover the histories of some 100 forgotten properties.

 

As the day slipped quickly away and twilight settled on Cecil County on this busy last weekend before Christmas, the lights of the Conowingo Dam flickered to life.  In contrast to the frenzied day of last-minute shopping in downtowns and malls, the scene on the Susquehanna was quiet and settled this Saturday evening at this old river crossing.  Reflecting from the lake, a colorful array of lights glowed softly in the gathering darkness as people settled in for the longest night of the year.  The northwestern crossing from Cecil to Harford counties has always been an important one and earlier bridges made way for the Conowingo Dam, which opened in 1928.

Click here for a blog post on the long lost village of Conowingo

Port Deposit, Dec. 21, 2013 — Soon after twilight on this weekend before Christmas, the firefighters at Cecil County’s oldest company, Water Witch, had  Station 7 sparkling with holiday lights.

After the Civil War retail trade boomed in the United States and every community of almost any size had a lively business district where a range of retailers competed for business.  To help promote commerce, merchants passed out colorful trade cards to potential customers.  These attractively illustrated, brightly colored pieces of advertising were similar to today’s business card.  By the 1880s the items and heavy paper-stock were a major advertising method for merchants and they were popular.   Collectors of Cecil County ephemera are able to find a number of these eye-catching printed pieces.  Here were two that were issued in Elkton.  Many more were distributed throughout the county.

To honor the memory of those on Flight 214, JoAnn & Alan Gardner, volunteers at the Historical Society of Cecil County, developed this memorial presentation.  It was to be shown on the 50th anniversary of the crash at the Remembrance Program at Singerly Fire Station, but a sudden snow storm prevented many people from attending the program.  Since many people were unable to attend as travel conditions were dangerous, we are sharing the program on the Net.

Although we are still waiting for autumn to officially end in Elkton it seems as if Old Man Winter has sailed in for an early visit, getting in some practice with a few good blasts of ice and snow.  For the third time in a week, frozen precipitation fell this afternoon.

Most people were out getting ready for Christmas on this damp, frigid Saturday.  But I decided to check out a quiet spots in the old colonial town to see if the early arrival of the season enhanced the view at a historic place.  At Elk Landing, where the Big and Little Elk creeks meet the river, the ground was snow-covered and the scene was tranquil.  These centuries old homes have survived blizzards, howling winds, ice storms, and the blasts of frigid temperatures for centuries.  On the snow-covered ground, the relics of an earlier era presented an attractive scene as autumn draws to a close.