Bainbridge elementary fourth and fifth graders watched from the gym floor Monday as the White House burned, Andrew Jackson marched into battle and Francis Scott Key composed The Star-Spangled Banner – all in the span of a single class period.
The historical scenes – each pertaining to a major event in the War of 1812 – were written, directed and performed by students in Cecil County Public Schools’ Honors Drama II group. Led by Rising Sun High drama teacher Tess Pohlhaus, the student group is comprised of 17 juniors and seniors from county high schools.
For longer than anyone alive remembers, Valentine’s Day in Elkton has been particularly hectic down on Main Street as couples arrive here for quick marriages. Still, while cupid’s holiday is an unusually busy one, there was once a hum and bustle to the matrimonial business in the old town, day in and day out, when the wedding industry thrived in Cecil County.
Main Street Elkton has several marrying ministers.
It started just before World War I when northern states passed more restrictive marriage laws requiring waits of two or three days after a license was issued. Once Delaware joined the growing trend in 1913, it made Elkton, the northeasternmost county in Maryland, the spot for a quick ceremony. And since it was the closest to the urban centers of the northeast, the “honeymoon express” (passenger trains) arrived in town many times each day, bringing young, eager couples in a hurry to get married without delay.
The local cabbies anxiously scanned the coaches, eyeing the arriving crowd for potential brides and grooms. Wanting to grab the trade before the competition did, the jitney drivers offered to expedite the couple through the licensing process at the Clerk of the Court’s Office and help with all the arrangements. But these veteran navigators of Elkton streets, roads, alleys, and the halls of local government wanted to make sure the wedding went off without a hitch as the taxi company’s marrying parson performed the hasty ceremony.
In its heyday in the 1920s and 1930s, it was the elopement capital of the East Coast as cupid’s couples swamped the marriage parlors. The parsons were doing “one marriage every 15 minutes,” which wasn’t “bad for a town of something like 3,000 people” the News American reported in 1920, as the once quiet town a few miles from Pennsylvania and Delaware became America’s Gretna Green. In 1936, the county cranked out 11,791 marriage licenses in an area where about 250 ceremonies would have otherwise been anticipated.
To accommodate the heavy trade the taxi operators set up marrying parsons along the main streets since competition for brides and grooms was intense during the mills heyday.
Not much was required to get hitched in Elkton in those days. Twelve minutes and a few dollars were all you needed, the Baltimore newspaper reported. Although even the 12 minutes weren’t altogether necessary, the dollars were the reporter observed.
With construction of new engine bays at Singerly Fire Company’s main station on Newark Avenue nearing completion the new addition illuminates the night as winter precipitation starts falling on Elkton. Click here to see our August 2011 post when construction on the public safety building was getting underway.
Scott Sheads, a National Park Service Ranger at Fort McHenry and an authority on the Chesapeake in the War of 1812, has created a blog to share stories of Maryland during the War. His posts are informative and we think our readers will find them of interest. We’ve clipped part of one on Frenctown here and you may click on the link below to continue to the full piece.
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I have the honor to acquaint you that having yesterday gained information of the Depot of Flour…being with some Military and other Stores situated at a Place called French Town, a considerable distance up the River Elk. Rear Admiral George Cockburn to Admiral John Warren, April 29, 1813.
The first British landing incursion in Maryland occurred at Frenchtown and Elk Landing (Elkton), Cecil County on April 29, 1813. Thirty-six years before in August 1777, three hundred British warships, carrying 15,000 British and German Hessian troops had anchored off Elk Landing, fifteen miles above Frenchtown, then marched north to Philadelphia. That winter while General Washington’s continental army encamped at Valley Forge, the British occupied and entertained themselves in hospitable and warm Philadelphia.
In late April 1813, British warships again sailed up the Chesapeake towards Frenchtown a prosperous commercial port on the Elk River, a mile below Elkton on the upper bay. (Located on Frenchtown Road off Route 213.)
Elkton Police Officer Ernie Beck inspects a shattered car window (Cecil Whig, Nov. 13, 1968, Frear)
This past Friday, the Cecil Whig ran one of its “recognize this” photos showing an Elkton patrolman examining the shattered window of an automobile. In those weekly installment of old images from decades ago, they ask people to share whatever they know about the image.
This one was part of photojournalist Richard Frear’s coverage of the Elkton Police night watch titled “Watching the Night and Waiting for the Dawn.” Readers surfing over to the Whig have pointed out that it was Patrolman Ernie Beck. Ernie and his partner Baron were the first K-9 patrol in the county seat, and they kept a careful watch on those lonely night shifts in that troubled year of 1968.
As several people have asked questions about the photographer’s work, here are a few other photos from the series.
01:47 — Beck stops a juvenile suspected of being intoxicated in the Court House parking lot and searches him for a possible concealed weapon. His K-9 is trained to attack if the suspect makes any attempt to flee or attack Beck. (Source: Cecil Whig., Nov. 13, 1968, Frear)
Elkton doubled the size of its firefighting force when an additional hand-pumper was purchased in Baltimore in 1859. Although it was a used piece of apparatus, it was a major step forward as the Rodgers didn’t require a bucket brigade to supply the pump with water. This suction engine, which the townspeople had purchased for $450 from the Vigilant Fire Company of Baltimore, could pull water from a stream or pond.
It was a grand day for the town’s volunteer firefighters when Captain Ford of the Schooner Iglehort offloaded the precious hand-pumper. Volunteers proudly marched it in a procession through the streets and there was a general turnout of people. The young volunteers, after parading it around decided to demonstrate its power at the highest structure in Elkton. So off they went to the 18th century courthouse. There the “boys” threw a stream higher than the steeple of the court-house.
Just about the time they’d successful pumped a powerful stream, some of the senior firemen pulled the town’s older fire engine down to the courthouse and manned the Hydraulion as it was called. It threw water higher than the new one, to shouts and cheers for that old Philadelphia pumper, a relic of 1818. The boys at the new machine full of pluck, again railed and this time did better, and it was their turn to cheer. Back and forth it went until the old engine was put to work one more time, the excitement all the time raising in the crowd, when up went her water ten or fifteen-feet higher than before, beating the new engine fairly and decidedly.
These two old heroes of many a fight with the flames protected Elkton until the early 1890s when the Singerly Fire Company was formed and purchased a steam engine, hook-and-ladder, and hose carts. This old hand-pumper has been preserved and is on display at the fire company museum.
Al Wills, an expert on old 19th century pumpers, examines the Rodgers at the Historical Society just before it was sent to an Amish carriagemaker for restoration. This was in the mid-1980s
The John Rodgers is on display at Singerly's museum in Elkton
Elk
Elkton's 19th century force of firefighting equipment in retirement in the 1950s. Both units were restored by the fire company for the 100th anniversary in 1992.
The hydraulion, the county’s oldest piece of firefighting equipment came to Elkton about 1827, after townspeople purchased the unit in Philadelphia for $700. The “Water Witch,” which was built for one of the volunteer companies in the city, served there for about nine years, before it was sold. It was a new design, a combination unit with a hand-pumper and hose reel mounted on the same carriage. That reduced some of the strenous exertion required of the men as all the needed equipment was on the combination unit the men struggled to drag quickly to the blaze.
It became Elkton’s pride and when the courthouse bell tolled out with that chilling alarm in the middle of a dark winter night, men pulled the heavy contraption to the fire. Once there, they formed bucket lines to keep the tub built into the hydraulion full of water as a gang of others rapidly worked the levers on the pump. For thirty years, this was the town’s defense against fire. But In 1859 a second-hand pumper, a suction engine was purchased in Baltimore.
As Singerly started planning for its’ 100th anniversary in the early 1980’s both of these old heroes of many of a hard-fought fight were restored. Restoration was done by a Mr. Petersheim, an Amish carriagemaker near Christiana PA. Today the equipment is displayed in the company museum. The photos below are before and after photos of the older unit, the hydraulion. Singerly consulted with two experts from Philadelphia, Al Wills and Jack Robrecht, during the restoration. The second photo represents the original color of the 1818 relic. The first image is of the unit just before it was transported to Mr. Petersheim’s for restoration.
Elkton, January 27, 2012 — This afternoon over thirty dealers in old photographs, postcards, newspapers, advertising, books and other paper ephemera jammed the fire hall on Newark Avenue in Elkton. As they busily arranged their offerings for the opening of the 25th annual show, we got a glimpse of some of the magazines, posters, and much more.
A number of tables had great Cecil County photos, which will be available for purchase once the show opens tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m. The image below is typical of some of the high-quality pictures we glanced at this afternoon. The postcard from about 1914 shows the National Bank of Rising Sun.
If it’s old paper that catches your interest there’s a chance you’ll find it at the 25th Annual Paper Americana show on Newark Avenue at the Singerly Fire Hall in Elkton. It runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. this Saturday (January 28, 2012). The Singerly Fire Hall is located at 300 Newark Avenue, Elkton, MD. near the intersection of Routes 213 and 279. Admission is $3.00 per person ($2.00 with this ad) — children under 12 admitted free of charge. For additional information contact ayersj@zoominternet.net or call 410-398-7735 or 410-398-7300 during show hours.
Singerly volunteers started the show 25 years ago to raise money to restore two early 19th century hand-pumpers as the firefighters prepared to celebrate their 100th anniversary.
Don’t let your family history disintegrate! Join us for a hands-on demonstration on how to preserve your family’s artifacts, postcards, and photographs. information will be provide on supplies needed and methods for storing and displaying these pieces without damaging them. (Bring one of your items to the workshop for advice about how to handle it). Registration required.
While the Historical Society of Cecil County is over 75-years-old, that doesn’t mean it isn’t keeping up with the times. As early as 1995, the keeper of Cecil’s heritage climbed right on board with the digital age by launching one of the first local history web sites in the region. It has continued to keep pace with the digital age and in April 2008 we added Facebook. It’s another way to let people know about local history events, and research collections. As the preservers of Cecil’s, they’re pleased to make use of these new technologies to reach a far wider audience from coast to coast and around the globe. Surf on over to Facebook and like the Society to keep up with the latest, see some of their photos, and read articles on local history
