Finding clues from the past that give us a glimpse into the places and lives of Marylanders who came before us
Now and then I’ll be sharing another way of getting a glimpse of the Maryland that came before us — through postcards. Of course, I’m late to the game; there’s nothing new about collecting postcards. But just as I love finding interesting vignettes to share from yesteryear, I also have been enjoying finding unique messages... Continue Reading →
I had the pleasure of accompanying my daughter on a field trip to Rose Hill Manor in Frederick last week. My husband and I each had fuzzy memories of being served mint tea and some sort of cracker when we had visited Gov. Thomas Johnson's retirement home during our own elementary school field trip days... Continue Reading →
From the New Windsor Museum (Carroll County): “Sun Dial from Garden of Dielman Inn "Dated 1909, this sun dial was a fixture behind the Dielman Inn until 2010. Attributed to Sir Charles Leonard Woolley (1880-1960), famous British archaeologist and discoverer of Ur, the ancient city of Abraham, now in today’s Iraq. Woolley is said to... Continue Reading →
This mural was painted in 1999 and based on an 1877 map of Westminster. It sits on Locust Lane in downtown Westminster, the county seat of Carroll County. Photo taken March 16, 2018.
New Windsor Mayor Neal Roop remembers the very spot where Fred Snyder’s barbershop chair sat in one of the rooms on the ground floor of the Dielman Inn. Standing in the now-empty space decades later, Roop commented how the room seemed so much bigger to him when he was a child. Snyder’s chair was one... Continue Reading →
It may be hard to believe now, but Ocean City used to be a small fishing village before it was transformed into a place for summer frolicking in the late 19th century. Ocean City started to gain in popularity in the late 1870s, in part due to the availability of the resort by rail and... Continue Reading →
Driving through the blink-and-you'll-miss-it community of Ceresville, one can’t help but notice the beautiful limestone shell of a mill that has the distinction of being the first mill in Frederick County. Known as the Ceresville Flour Mill, or Kelly’s Mill after its last owners, the building sits near the intersection of Route 26 and Route 194... Continue Reading →
My mother has always been afraid of bridges. I’m not sure how or why it started, but, for as long as I can remember, the closer we would get to the William Preston Lane Jr. Memorial Bridge, known simply around here as the Bay Bridge, she'd start to get tense. Of course, my father didn’t... Continue Reading →
The Bay Bridge is one of the most easily recognized landmarks in all of Maryland. Officially known as the William Preston Lane Jr. Memorial Bridge, named after the governor who started the endeavor, the bridge changed the way of life for many Marylanders when it opened in July 1952. Prior to that, the only way... Continue Reading →
It was the second-oldest railroad in the United States. It was one of the coveted railroads featured on the iconic Monopoly game board, and it got its start in Baltimore. Of course it’s the Baltimore & Ohio (B&O) Railroad.
Bygone Maryland 