The Old Cecil County Courthouse on an Early Spring Evening in 2011
Singerly Fire Company to Hold Fire & Police Badge and Patch Show Sept. 24, 2011
Press Release
A “Fire & Police Badge and Patch” show will be held at Singerly Fire Co. Elkton, Maryland on Saturday September 24, 2011 from 9 AM to 3 PM. The show will feature over twenty five dealers who will offer, for viewing and sale, collectible fire & police badges and patches. All funds received are for the benefit of Singerly Volunteer Fire Company Elkton, MD.
The Singerly Fire Hall is located at 300 Newark Avenue Elkton, MD, near the intersection of Routes 213 and 279. From I-95 take Exit# 109 (Rt. 279 Newark, DE/ Elkton, MD) interchange toward Elkton approx. 3 miles on right. Admission is $3.00 per person – children under 12 admitted free of charge. Lunch and refreshments will be available for sale by the Singerly Fire Company Ladies Auxiliary. For additional information contact ayers.we@hotmail.com or call 410 398 7735 (During show hours 410-398-7300).
Maryland Historical Trust Representative Works With Elkton Board to Untangle Matters Related to Historic District
Elkton Town Meeting, Sept. 14, 2011 – After an August meeting
between the mayor and commissioners and the Historic and Architectural Review Committee (HARC) created more questions than answers, the elected officials asked the Maryland Historical Trust to help them sort things out. As a result Cory Kegersie, a preservation professional with the Trust, attended the workshop to untangle things. I understand “. . . you may have been left
with more questions than answers as to what is historic district zoning and
what it requires. . . My goal is to help you make informed decisions with what I think is the right information and maybe correct some slight misstatement . . .” As the presentation started, Commissioner Jablonski wanted to know if HARC representatives were going to attend the discussion. A staff member informed her that although no one was present they were notified of the meeting.
Historic districts are a form of zoning overlay with particular rights and restrictions and the commission, a quasi-judicial body, is similar to a planning board, he explained. As a result there are certain things you have to do in a certain way to protect you and your citizens and assure due process in protecting property rights and the legislative rights of government. In this realm, the commission makes determinations on “alterations to the exterior of buildings, not interiors.” On that point Commissioner Givens sought clarification,
“in the interior you can do whatever you want?” The authority is limited to the exterior, Cory assured him.
It is my understanding that the discussion of design guidelines is where the topic got complicated, Cory remarked as he displayed a map showing Elkton’s large inventory of historic structures. Design guidelines are used for the review, so
it’s not a matter of personal taste.” It’s a tool that ensures a board is making consistent, reasonable decisions, not rendering opinions based on personal preference. So they use these as guidelines, not strict enforcement tools, Commissioner Hicks inquired. “The federal standards are broad and there are ten of them. . . To the home owner, getting this short list doesn’t make a whole lot of sense so commissions typically adopt the illustrated guidelines to help owners.” Cory remarked as he displayed examples from Bel
Air, Cumberland, Snow Hill and other places.
“They come in all shapes and sizes and almost all have lots of pictures,” he remarked while pointing to examples of how they provide guidance to the building owner. The guidelines “serve to let homeowners know what the expectations are and give something the commissioner use in order to make decisions. The philosophy that underlay the standards gets translated into real world examples. These are not regulations, but guidelines that serve as policy decision aids.”
“All we want is to protect the historic value and keep the small town façade or feel,” Commissioner Hicks remarked. “We want to protect that. New buildings come and suddenly Elkton is no longer that quaint small town with history.
It goes away just like that.” Responding to the Commissioner’s closing observation Cory added that he once told the mayor of Salisbury that “no one ever came to Salisbury to see their strip malls. In terms of small town feel and appearance, the quality of architecture does definitely make a difference.”
You owe it to yourself to have some realistic and justifiable rationale and guidelines so you don’t end up being the pretty committee,” the state
preservation official emphasized. When asked how common historic districts were in Maryland, he noted that most town’s Elkton’s size and most that are participating in the Main Street program have historic districts.
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Dr. Davy McCall to Speak at Historical Society’s Annual Meeting Oct. 17, 2011
The annual meeting of the Historical Society of Cecil County will be held on Monday, October 17, 2011, at the Chesapeake Inn Banquet Room, 605 2nd Street, Chesapeake City. Our guest speaker will be Dr. Davy McCall. Dr. McCall received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1962. He has had a long and distinguished career in the Foreign Service, focusing on economic development, spending many years abroad with the World Bank. He has authored a book on the 200th anniversary of St. Paul’s Church and has restored three 18th century homes on the Eastern Shore. He was the founding chair of the Kent County Historic Preservation commission and current serves as vice-chair. Dr. McCall has donated a unique collection of 19th century materials related to the Susquehanna region and will be speaking about his generous contribution. In addition members of the Cecil County Heritage Troupe and Boxturtle Bob will be performing during the evening.
The cost of the dinner is $30 per person for members or $35.00 per person for non-members. You may select between Crab Cake or Chicken Marsala. Your meal will include salad, coffee or tea and dessert.
To reserve for the evening, send a check in the property amount to the Historical Society, 135 E. Main Street, Elkton, MD. 21921. The deadline for reservations is October 7, 2011.
Cecil Whig in Search of the ‘Swiss Cheese’ Historic District
In today’s Cecil Whig a column examines an issue members of Elkton’s historic and Architectural Review Committee (HARC) initiated when they met with the town board and discussed eliminating or reducing regulations protecting Elkton’s surviving cultural resources. As a result of all the fuzz about “preserving stately homes, procedures for demolishing old buildings, and enforcement of historic building regulations,” Cecil Whig columnist Ed Okonowicz headed downtown to see what was going on and see if he could “locate the top historical spots.”
That proved to be challenging, he wrote. One downtown regular and a trustee of the Historic Elk Landing Foundation, Jon Carpenter, was interviewed. He described Elkton’s policy that contributes to the “current historic district dilemma” as one of “benign neglect.”
The confusion, frustration and genuine regret over lost opportunities, “might support suggestions by some members of the town’s Historic and Architectural Review Committee that it continuation may not be worthwhile,” Okonowicz said. “Unfortunately for some time, it appears preservation efforts were ineffectual and not forward thinking. Efforts by county and Elkton agencies to entice travelers to view the city’s heritage face a steep uphill challenge because very little structural history survives. Perhaps Elkton’s poor historic preservation legacy should serve as an example of what over community should not do and proves that in some cases, the present may be too late to salvage what’s left of a proud community’s rapidly vanishing past,” the columnist concludes.
Historic District Committee Meeting With Commissioners Got Off Track as all They Heard was Dissolve It, Other Members Say
Elkton Town Hall – August 31, 2011 – After dispatching a Historic and Architectural Review Committee (HARC) decision involving signs on a physician’s office downtown, the panel kicked around concerns about impressions that were created during the Aug 10 workshop with elected officials. The meeting with the mayor and commissioners got off to a track I wasn’t anticipating, Paula Newton, the Chair, informed the committee. “I wanted to know if they were going to support the decisions we make as so far they haven’t.” But “all they heard was dissolve the historic district,” Linda Griffith added as Paula nodded in agreement.
The mayor is under the impression the other elected officials now want to get rid of the district because of the burdensome nature of the regulations since the HARC discussion centered around elimination of the special district or reduction in its size. “We scared the commissioners into thinking we’re going to regulate” the minutia in buildings. “The reality is the guidelines in other towns are broad and give you a lot of leeway. . . . Depending on the age and history of the structure, we’re not going to apply strict guidelines, and that’s something the mayor and commissioners didn’t hear. These guidelines we’re talking about really are broad and they’re recommendations. . . . They’re not set in stone. We’re going to be lenient on a 1970s building, in comparison to a historic one.”
Noting the other point of view, Josh Brown went back to the signage discussion that took place when he mentioned the “heavy handed guidelines we’re going to enforce. . . . You’re telling this guy he’s got to put up an appropriate sign, but like counsel said there are plenty of others that aren’t in compliance.” The town attorney had weighed in on whether HARC should regulate the sign as there were plenty of others that weren’t in compliance. Those were done before the HARC committee was created and the authority to regulate those displays wasn’t in place, Paula answered. “There are some buildings that shouldn’t be in the historic district,” Josh continued as Paula added that if something came up with those non-contributing buildings they would be treated leniently. “We’re trying to preserve what we have,” she continued and they’re not going to make you go back and put something in that wasn’t there. “If you build it in the 1970s you go by that code and not this code,” Mark Clark added.
With the exchange winding down, Josh talked about whether certain areas should be in the district. Paula reemphasized that the regulations don’t’ require a strict approach to buildings that aren’t contributing to the historical fabric of the neighborhood as she noted the need to protect cultural resources that still exist in some of the areas. She wrapped up the exchanges by advising that the Maryland Historical Trust was going to have a preservation planner from the state attend a meeting with Elkton’s Mayor and Commissioners to help the elected officials sort out the concerns that were raised during the workshop.
Downtown Elkton structuresAfter Local Board Makes Unusual Recommendation to Eliminate Historic District, Commissioners Ask to Meet With State Professionals
Elkton Town Meeting, August 27, 2011 – Weeks ago the commissioners were told by some members of the historical and architectural review committee (HARC) that the special district protecting old structures in a few neighborhoods in Elkton should be eliminated or its area should be reduced. The regulations are far too restrictive and the county seat doesn’t have a historic corridor, the HARC representatives informed officials.
The discussion of that subject continued at this regular meeting as the elected officials decided they would like to hear from professionals at the Maryland Historical Trust, the state agency charged with protecting the State’s past. Commissioner Jablonski and Mayor Fisona noted that Cory Kegerise, a preservation planner, will attend a meeting with the elected leaders so officials can get a better understanding of obligations and requirements as Elkton struggles to stabilize and protect its old neighborhoods. Both the Mayor and Commissioner Jablonski, who also serves as the town’s Main Street Manager and the Executive Director of the Elkton Alliance/Chamber, said they want to get professional input before making a decision as they’d had contact from citizens pointing out the value of the municipality’s historic corridors. “We really need to discuss this as a whole and get some input. I was quite confused. I’m glad to hear Cory is coming to a meeting,” Commissioner Jablonski noted.
Forty-eight historic district commissions have been created in Maryland as communities work to protect the “look and feel of their towns,” according to Karen Theimer Brown, a representative of the Maryland Association of Historic District Commissions. The best way to protect a community’s historic character from inappropriate change is through a local ordinance and district, she noted.
Occasionally historic districts are abolished, but “that action is usually taken as a result of pressure from residents, developers, and landlords,” according to Cory of the Maryland Historical Trust. “To my knowledge there hasn’t’ been a situation where the members of a commission charged with administering and upholding a preservation ordinance have been the ones to advocate for removal of those policies.”
Treasures of Charlestown Subject of Program at North East Library on Sept. 27
Local historian Audrey Edwards will talk about colonial Charlestown’s historic buildings, artifacts and the stories behind its historical markers. Step back in time to the days of the American Revolution!
North East Branch Library, 106 W. Cecil Ave., North East, MD. 21901
410-996-6269
Tues. Sept. 27th, 2011 at 6:30 pm
Gilpin Falls Covered Bridge No Stranger to Hurricanes
The Gilpin Falls Covered Bridge, that relic from another era, is no stranger to hurricanes and it just endured another one. Tropical storm conditions battered Cecil County over the weekend as Irene passed just off the Maryland Coast. That blast dumped over 7-inches of rain on an already soaked county as wind gusts up to 62 miles per hour whipped the area. But by Late Sunday afternoon, the sun emerged, the wind died down, and Cecil started dusting itself off. As people came out to clean up from Irene, the Northeast Creek, the usually quiet stream the aging survivor spans, overflowed its banks so curious crowds stopped to look things over. Small groups huddled near the 1860s bridge observing the swollen, rushing waters and looking over the soaked scene.
A strong, old hand at weathering these types of storms, the Burr arch wooden bridge came through it in fine shape just as it has for centuries. It was there in October 1954 when Hazel brought hurricane-force winds to the state and it survived the likes of Floyd, and Agnes, when those two storms flooded the Eastern Shore. Then there was the Great Labor Day Hurricane deluge of 1935, which swamped northeastern Maryland. There were plenty of others in the 19th century too.
Gilpin Falls Covered Bridge has survived the test of time and is a local preservation success story as it also endured a storm of another kind. This one involved the county commissioners and editorial writers at the Cecil Whig, arguing against its preservation. Yes, Cecil’s bridge to the past is a definite survivor.
Cecil Whig: Battle Brews Over History in Elkton
The Elkton Historic District Committee met with the mayor and commissioners to discuss the review board’s recommendation ”that the town’s two-decades-old historical district should be eliminated,” the Cecil Whig reported Aug. 15. The standards the committee should operate under “are contained in a 200-page document that is incredibly detailed and restrictive in scope, down to the very minutiae of using period replica hardware,” the Whig quoted Josh Brown as saying. Another member, Mark Clark, was reported to have said “that the historic district is hard to enforce, because Elkton has been ‘swiss-cheesed’ through the years. There’s a bunch of holes where people tore buildings down for parking lots . . .” Brown said to the elected leaders, “Do you want to actually preserve history or do you want to commestically preserve it” he asked as he suggested that perhaps the town should consider adopting less detailed regulations that encourage citizens to be sympathetic to historical standards, through other avenues such as the municipal building and zoning code.