Today Fair Hill NRMA’s 5,600-plus acres of managed forests, farmland and riparian wetlands, are open for public use and enjoyment. You can hike it, bike it, ride it, fish it, hunt it and love it. Prior to 1973, it was William duPont’s private estate, used for fox hunting and cattle raising. But what came before? Who owned the almost 100 properties that duPont acquired parcel by parcel, starting in 1929? What sort of people leading what kinds of lives inhabited this corner of Maryland before its small communities vanished and the public roads and commercial establishments serving them disappeared?
Reminders of Fair Hill’s past are visible in the occupied buildings near the covered bridge. But, nature has obliterated most of the pre-du Pont properties. Still, traces of the forgotten home sites, farmyards and commercial enterprises are out there, recognizable if you know where and how to look for them.
Join Emily Kilby, park lover and amateur historian, on November 10 , 2012, at 7 p.m. at the Edward L. Walls Activity Hall for a preliminary presentation of her findings about the forgotten communities that once thrived within the park boundaries. old maps, local-history resources, land transactions, census data, William du Pont’s business papers and, especially, precious old photographs that all help bring Fair Hill’s nineteenth and early twentieth century worlds back to life.
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Date: Nov. 10, 2012 at 7 p.m.
Where: Edward l. Walls Activity Hall, Fair Hill NRMA Fairgrounds, 4680 Telegraph Road, Elkton, MD 21921
Reservations: 410-398-1246 to reserve your seat
For years I have known that there had been a homestead on the Fair Hill Nature reserve that had been the home of Lonzo and Nancy Belle Cockerham. I am their granddaughter, the daughter of their youngest daughter, Margaret. Margaret married William Neyman and had four sons, and me, their only daughter Nancy. My brother Earle worked on the William Dupont Farm and did construction. I recently attended two baptisms at the Nature Reserve, done by Tim Beardsley. The first time I went to the Nature Reserve, I was struck by the sign “Cockerham”. It felt like I was coming home, and I had to see it for myself. With the help of Amy Estey, who has been an equestrian, who spoke with the Ranger and addressed my desire to see “Cockerham” I visited the site of the old farm. I am thrilled that Boy Scouts camp at this site, and will make plans it in the future. Is it possible that there are any pictures of the homestead?
Nancy there’s a great Facebook Page, Forgotten Fair Hill, which does a lot on the history of that area, including sharing photos. Emily Kilby is the page administrator and here’s the link. Check it out as you will find it helpful https://www.facebook.com/groups/928114463937743