ELKTON — May 5, 2023 — As the weather cleared after a series of rainy days, a crowd gathered on this enjoyable spring evening in front of Rev. Duke’s Log House. They assembled for a celebration–the Historical Society of Cecil County’s rededication of the reverend’s old home and to dedicate a bench that recognized the…
Bald Friar Railroad Station
Bald Friar, a hamlet at the edge of the Susquehanna River a few miles north of Conowingo, had a ferry that allowed colonial travelers to cross the waterway. In 1877, it was connected to the larger world by the railroad’s arrival. The Columbia and Port Deposit Railroad stretched up the eastern side of the Susquehanna…
Last Train to the Conowingo Railroad Station
During the canal era at the top of the 19th century, the little river town of Conowingo prospered, but after the canal closed, the place declined. In this period, some 40 or 50 years earlier, it had done brisk business, and several sawmills were at work, the Cecil Whig reported in 1870. But these memories…
St. Basil’s Ukrainian Church
CHESAPEAKE CITY — Feb. 26, 2022 — As the Russian invasion of Ukraine enters its fourth day, we stopped by a hilltop south of Chesapeake City as the fading light of this final Saturday in February gave way to evening. This is an area where the Ukrainian community in northeastern Maryland had its beginnings so…
The Constable is a Woman
When Cecil County appointed a female peace officer in 1961, she became the first woman to perform police duties here. This commission prompted attention from the regional press, and after the county clerk swore in Odette “Skip” Scrivanich, a Baltimore reporter in search of a story, came looking for the “lady constable.” The newspaperman asked…
Rusty Brandon — Watching the Night & Waiting for the Dawn at Union Hospital
Rusty Brandon managed the overnight shift at Union Hospital for forty-five years. Her all-night routine started in 1953 when she assumed responsibility for supervising healthcare services for the Elkton Hospital on the late shift. Arriving a little before the 11 pm staff clocked in, Rusty received a report from the evening supervisor. Then she made…
Oblate Farthers of St. Francis de Sales Purchased Farm.
In November 1906, the Oblate Fathers of St. Francis de Sales announced that the religious order had purchased the Edward Taylor Farm at Childs for $9,000. Formerly the Dunott farm, it comprised about 210 acres.1 Plans for the seminary called for the construction of substantial buildings devoted to religious instruction, the Midland Journal reported. The…
Mason Dixon Line Creates Peculiar Prohibition Case
More than a century and a half after Mason and Dixon drew the boundary line separating Pennsylvania and Maryland, the question about the location of the border got entangled in a federal prohibition case. The wrangling started after Deputy Sheriff Joseph Short and Federal Dry Agent John M. Spicer raided a moonshine plant near Goat…
Remembering Bob Phillips, Charlestown Community Leader
CHARLESTOWN – NOV. 25, 2022 – Friday, as a rainy, gray morning gave way to the warming sunshine of a late autumn day, they laid Robert (Bob) Earl Phillips to rest at St. John’s United Methodist Church Cemetery, where family, friends, town leaders, and the fire company gathered to bid farewell. Born on March 6,…
Train Wreck Gives Halloween a Frightening Start
ELKTON, Oct. 31, 1965 — On a morning when most people eagerly looked forward to the playfulness and pranks of Halloween, the day got off to a frightening jolt. In the pre-dawn darkness, as a Pennsylvania Railroad Train rumbled through Elkton, 41 of the 118 freight cars derailed at the edge of Hollingsworth Manor. Some…