ELKTON STOCK FARM — William M. Singerly, an industrialist and newspaper publisher in Philadelphia, bred and raced standardbred and thoroughbred horses on farms he held in Kentucky and Montgomery County, PA, according to Wikipedia.
In 1888, he purchased 300 acres on Blue Ball Road about 2½ miles northwest of Elkton, which he called the “Elkton Stock Farm.” The farm was owned by Fred H. Racine, but had previously been known as the Simpers property. When Singerly purchased this acreage, he owned 14 “high blooded young stock” in Lexington Ky., and desired to have them trained near Philadelphia, the Cecil Whig reported on Sept. 3, 1892.
In pursuit of this goal, he first purchased Holly Hall, but this proved inadequate so he acquired the much tract northwest of Elkton. On the Blue Ball Road property outside of childs , he erected a dwelling for the use of his superintendent, R.T. Crouch. The land was bordered by the Little Elk Creek