Very early on a Friday morning in September 1911, the usual routine at the Cecil County jail was abruptly shattered. Five inmates, just released into the exercise yard by Deputy Steward, hauled their iron bed frames and blankets outside. Turning these tools into an improvised ladder and rope, they scaled the 30-foot stone wall that enclosed the yard. Once over the top, they raced up the Pennsylvania Railroad tracks, hoping to slip into Delaware before anyone noticed.
Luck, however, was not on their side. Two railroad men–crossing watchman Charles E. Denny and track walker John Heath–spotted the men scrambling along the tracks and immediately raised the alarm. Sheriff J. Wesley McAllister, roused from his apartment on the second floor of the jail, hastily dressed and sprinted after the escapees on foot. But the fugitives already had a good head start.
Just as they seemed to be getting away, fortune turned. The 7:27 a.m. northbound passenger train, having made a scheduled stop at the Elkton station, roared into view. The sheriff frantically waved his hat to flag it down, and the engineer, catching sight of the urgent signal, brought the locomotive to a screeching halt. McAllister leaped aboard, quickly explaining about the jail escape. Without delay, the engineer put on steam and opened up the throttle, beginning the locomotive’s hot pursuit.
Steam hissed and wheels clattered as the train raced north, rapidly closing the gap on the escapees who had stuck to the tracks. When the fleeing men came into view near Iron Hill, the engineer throttled down. Without waiting for a full stop, Sheriff McAlliser jumped from the moving train and charged at the startled men.
Six warning shots rang out from the sheriff’s pistol. In the chaos, the Sheriff managed to corral four of the escapees single-handedly. The prisoners were marched back to the jail. Less than an hour after the jail escape, their brief taste of freedom came to an abrupt, dramatic end. Police at stations along the line were alerted to be on the lookout for the fifth man.
Source: Washington Post, Sept 9, 1911
Love this! Thank you so much!
Charles E. Denney (spelled correctly) was my great-grandfather. He was born in 1856 and died in 1922. He operated the crossing gates on North and Bridge Streets on the old Pennsylvania Railroad right of way along Railroad Avenue. His father and my great great grandfather George Denney was Cecil county sheriff during the 1870s.
Michael Thanks for passing this information along.