ELKTON, November 10, 2023—On a somber, gray, rainy day, hundreds of people gathered at the Newark Avenue firehouse to pay their final respects to Chief Frank W. Muller, Jr. The 68-year-old emergency services leader, who dedicated his entire adult life to serving the community, passed away on November 7, 2023. Following the service, the funeral…
Moving an Elkton Cemetery
ELKTON — In the spring of 1883, William Singerly purchased ground along the Big Elk Creek for his pulp mill and wharf. But atop the hill that sloped gently down to the waterway stood the old family burial ground of the Hollingsworth and Partridge families, containing some eighty graves. As the contractor dug away at…
Airmail Plane Stopped at Elk Landing
For the 20th anniversary of the inauguration of the United States Airmail Service, Postmaster General James A. Farley and President Roosevelt created a week-long event to commemorate the occasion. As part of the celebration, the postal service made a commemorative first-day cancellation for National Air Mail Week, May 15-21, 1938. The Post Office Department formally…
The Rising Sun Theatre — The Curtain Went Up
On Dec. 10, 1947, residents in northern Cecil County welcomed the latest in entertainment as the new modern Rising Sun Theatre opened at 11 E. Main Street. A large crowd eagerly purchased tickets to watch “Dear Ruth” despite icy, hazardous conditions prevailing across northern Maryland. Capable of seating 400 ticket holders, upholstered red leather seats…
The Underground Railroad in Cecil County – A Walking Tour in Cecilton
CROSSROADS TO FREEDOM WALKING TOUR CECILTON – SEPT, 10, 2023 @ 1 p.m. WALKING TOUR FOR INTERNATIONAL UNDERGROUND RAILROAD MONTH ABOUT ONE HOUR FREE For International Underground Railroad Month, enjoy this walk through Cecilton as we explore the story of the Underground Railroad in the land between the Bohemia and Sassafras rivers. During this casual…
Singerly Cottage
With William Singerly’s business ventures growing in Elkton, he erected a handsome three-story, ten-room “cottage” just a few blocks from the railroad station. The structure, known as the Singerly Cottage, faced an as-yet-unnamed street in a developing section of town, some papers calling it Maple Street. But today, it is known as Cathedral Street. Work…
Summer White House: Elkton & Georgetown Proposed
In 1929, President Herbert Hoover’s administration started searching for a location for a summer White House. President Calvin Coolidge had recommended Mount Weather, near Bluemont, Va. But Herbert Hoover wanted an area accessible by both car and the presidential yacht. He also favored a place where good fishing and other outdoor recreation could be enjoyed….
Cecil Whig Building in Downtown Elkton
One of the most interesting and architecturally distinctive buildings in Elkton’s old business district was the Cecil Whig Building. It was located at 125 North Street, next to PNC Bank. The newspaper, established on Aug. 7, 1841, by Palmer Ricketts, was originally published out of a log cabin. As the weekly grew, it needed more…
Pleasant Hill, a Village in Northeastern Cecil County
Cecil County once had many thriving villages, most with a cluster of homes, a few shopkeepers and tradesmen, a schoolhouse, a physician, and almost everything one needed for daily life. While most of these places continued into the 21st century as residential communities, they no longer bustle with enterprising activity the way they did in…
Mason-Dixon Line: WITF Interview
On May 25, 2023, WITF’s Scott Lamar visited the Mason-Dixon Line to learn about the history of one of the most famous boundaries in America with historian Mike Dixon. The boundary line between Pennsylvania and Maryland was disputed as early as the 1680s. An English team – Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon – surveyed the…