USA > Maryland > Caroline County > History of Caroline County, Maryland, from its beginning > Part 14
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A Duel.
Back in the 70's occurred an incident which served to arouse our then sleepy burg and furnished food for gossip for many days to come. It was the "Fighting of a Duel." the stage for which was set not far from the site of our present school.
The principals were of national and later of inter- national fame; James Gordon Bennett, famous journal- ist of New York and Paris, and William May, noted club- man, traveler and explorer. While the encounter amount- ed to but little at the time, it was said to have caused Bennett to move to Paris, where he died in 1918 pre- ceded by a few months by the death of May in Washing- ton, D. C.
Templeville.
About two miles to the north-west of our little vil- lage is another village which was formed before our own. In the early times it is said Patty Cannon's agents were busy in that part of the county. They would buy slaves and bring them to this village and hide them. The slaves were hidden in the attic of the hotel, which was then kept by Henry Whiteley. This kind of work did not meet the approval of the proprietor, but when travelers came for lodging they were compelled to care for the slaves also.
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Choptank River.
About one-fourth of a mile east of Marydel is the source of the Choptank River. It begins as a tiny stream and widens until it becomes a ditch twenty feet in width. It keeps widening as it gently flows along, until we find a large pond. The waters of this pond turn the wheels of a mill known as the Choptank Mill, now owned by John Medford. This pond furnishes good skating for the girls and boys of the surrounding country. We find this stream winding its way through beautiful groves until at last we have the grand old Choptank.
We are told in one of the groves along the west bank of the Choptank may be found a mound which was once the resting place of an Indian Chief who belonged to the tribe of Indians that made their homes in that portion of this county. This Chief's body was, in later years, removed to Baltimore and kept as a relic of the past.
MAUD HUMMER and Pupils.
The Marydel Duel.
The recent death of one of the principals, James Gordon Bennett, of Paris, formerly of New York, re- calls the duel which took place here in 1876. In some way Mr. Bennett and Fred May, of Baltimore, became estranged, presumably on account of the breaking of a matrimonial engagement by Mr. May's sister. A "field of honor" was deemed necessary. A challenge was giv- en and accepted. Pistols were selected as the weapons and the anthorities of five states became vigilant to pre- vent the duel.
May was the first to fire. He missed, but by so slight a margin that the bullet clipped a lock of hair from Ben- nett's head. Then Bennett's pistol was raised slowly until it pointed directly at May's chest. There was a tense second! Calmly and deliberately Bennett then pointed the pistol upward and discharged it into the air. The dneling party and principals escaped arrest by flight.
The arrival at Marydel that cold, damp December morning of the dueling party, or rather the two parties, was unaccountable and the meaning of the visit was not known by the residents of the town and vicinity for sev-
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eral hours after the meeting. In the party were eight good looking young men, all dressed in fine apparel, sev- eral of them carrying blankets in their arms, it being later inferred that the blankets were to be used in case of death or wounding of the men. They left the train immediately after its arrival and walked south down the track, one man of the party remaining at Marydel. The man left behind proceeded to make arrangements for teams to take the eight men away in a short time, giving one excuse or another for the visit of the strangers and their hasty departure. He climbed on the top of a box car on the siding and with a field glass watched the party as it proceeded to a secluded spot in the distance. The farmer who lived nearest to this spot heard two pistol shots and then after a short time the duelists and the friends of each man came back to town. Bennett with his second, surgeon, and one other going to Clayton by a carriage, and May and his chosen ones to Dover, where they still eluded identification, and escaped.
This affair is said by many who were close to Ben- nett to have been the real cause of his self-expatriation, since it was the only way by which it gave rise. He spent nearly all his time in Europe after the event of Marydel, but he developed in New York one of the finest news- paper properties in the world.
EDINBURGH.
This school which was organized about 1892 took its name from the tract of land on which it was erected.
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Meredith House, Henderson. Old Mud Mill.
Pippin's Church. Henderson School.
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HENDERSON LOCALITY.
HENDERSON-ITS EARLY HISTORY.
Arrow heads, stones, axes, and other Indian relics have been found in the gardens and fields of our neigh- borhood, so we know that long ago Indians lived where we live today.
The many paths through the forests proved that rabbits, raccoons, opossums, squirrels, foxes, deer, and bears were once plentiful; but there came a time when pioneers came and made it necessary for the Indians, and the larger animals to move farther inland; and there came a time when our village began and this is the way it happened.
At the close of the eighteenth century there was a man by the name of Edward Thawley who owned the little farm now known as "The Carmine Place" or "The Carrow Place."
A widowed daughter, a Mrs. Patrick, with several children, came to live with her father, Edward Thawley. Among these grand children was one very amiable maid- en named Elizabeth Patrick. About 1831 a young man from Delaware, Joshua Meredith, came a wooing this Elizabeth Patrick and in 1833 they were married in Busic's Church. Their first home was on the farm now owned by Alonzo Cohee.
When Edward Thawley died this Joshua and Eliza- beth Meredith came into possession of his little farm, and in 1849 they built the honse which now stands on this land.
The cross roads in our town was first called Mere- dith's Crossing for this family of Merediths.
Joshua Meredith died 1851. In 1880 Elizabeth Mere- dith married John Wesley Carmine, and they continued to reside in her old home. Mr. Carmine died in 1891. Mrs. Carmine died July 6, 1899. They were buried in the "Gibson Burving Ground," which is on Mrs. Eliza- beth Dills' farm near Henderson.
The name Henderson was given to the town in 1868 for a Mr. Henderson who was a stockholder or director of the Delaware and Chesapeake Railroad.
The first two houses in our village were built in 1866 for Joseph Wilson, who for many years resided in Barclay. The store now occupied by Edgar McKnett and the house just east of this store are those two houses.
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OUR SCHOOL.
The earliest records known to us of a school for this community show that a school known as "Cool Spring" stood on a site a few yards northeast of Harry Melvin's honse. The name "Cool Spring" came from a spring which was just across the road.
The earliest trustees on record for "Cool Spring" were William Wilson, William Hynson, and Robert Cul- breth. Some of the "Cool Spring" teachers were Mr. Tarr, Benny Barnes, Bee Hynson, Bob Booker, and An- gie Downes Clark.
About 1873 an attempt was made to move Cool Spring schoolhouse to the site where the present school- house building stands, but the old schoolhouse fell down on the way. School was then kept for a time in the house now occupied by Mrs. Blanche Pippin, or in a building near it called "Gongh's Shop." In 1874 a one- room building was erected by Charlie Gibson and Thom- as Jones of Henderson, on the spot just north of the intermediate room of the present building. The first teacher in that building was William Straughn. In 1891 another school room was added. The contractor was Edward Insley of Greensboro. In 1911 the original school room was sold to Carroll Johnson and moved. It is now used for a dwelling house. Two new school- rooms were added to the one that was built in 1891. The builder was William Reed of Henderson. The first teachers to occupy the building after it was remodelled were Foster Davis, Louise Higgins, and Olivia Coffin.
OUR CHURCH.
The first meeting house remembered by our oldest residents was a Methodist Church that stood on the north-west corner of Melville's Crossroads. When it was abandoned as a place of worship in 1854, it was nsed for a stable. Later it burned. In 1854, on the south- west corner of Melville's Crossroads a new church was built. It was called Pippin's Church.
The next church for this vicinity stood where the present church stands. It was dedicated in May 1889. Its first pastor was Albert Chandler. Its last one was Charles D. Sharpless.
In May, 1919, this church was torn down and a new one erected on the same foundation. It was dedicated
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September 14, 1919. The minister in charge of the morn- ing service was Rev. Dr. Wise, district superintendent. The afternoon service was conducted by Rev. Mr. Leach of Greensboro Methodist Church. In the evening the late Dr. Clinton T. Wyatt, once a first district resident, and one of the Wilmington Conference's most able min- isters, preached. The entire indebtedness on the church was raised that day. The pastor is Charles D. Sharp- less.
OUR MILL.
It is hard for us to imagine a time when grain was crushed, by hand, at home, on farms in a stone or wood- en mortar.
It is harder still for us to think of the little hand mills which served their day. There was a time in the history of our own community when farmers went to mill just as they did in any other pioneer community. Try to picture a grain sack thrown across the back of a horse, the farmer astride, and a ride through the woods to the mill by the trails worn by Indians.
You would expect to find a mill in the region of run- ning water, for those were the days of water-power, so on the Choptank River that is about two miles east of Henderson you will find the original mill in this vicinity. This mill is locally known as "The Mud Mill." Legally it is known as "The Choptank Mill." It is now owned by John B. Medford. We have not learned what date the mill was first operated, but we have been told it was in operation 97 years ago and the appearance of the building insinuated that it was an old mill then.
OUR POST-OFFICE.
J. C. Koons, first assistant post-master general, wrote that the records show that the first post-office for the vicinity was established February 2, 1855 and John J. Fisher was appointed post-master at Melville's Cross- roads.
In those days mail was driven from Easton to the head of the Sassafras River. Melville was on that route.
The name Melville came from a Thomas Melvin, the man who built the early buildings at Melville's Cross- roads. The name of our post-office was changed to Hen- derson July 24, 1868 and William L. Clough was appoint- ed post-master on that date.
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OUR RAILROAD.
The railroad that passes through our town is the Delaware and Chesapeake. It is said that the railroad came through Henderson in 1868.
The first depot stood in front of the house where Alda Montague lives. When it was opened a Western Union telegraph instrument was installed. The first agent was John Richardson.
When the line was first opened there was but one engine. It made two trips a day, one up and one down, carrying both freight and passengers. It burned noth- ing but wood. That engine was called "The Baltimore." The next engine that came into use was called "General Tilghman."
In 1891 the first depot of Henderson was moved to Chapel, Md. A building was brought here and put on the site of the present depot. In 1903 the present build- ing was moved here from Greenspring, Delaware.
OUR TELEPHONE.
In 1904 the Diamond State Telephone line reached Henderson and a pay station was established in Clar- ence Hallingsworth's store.
DRAMA -- "STAGE COACH DAYS."
Time-After supper.
Place-Grandmother's sitting room.
Characters-Grandmother-Bertha Meredith. Grandson-Jacob Melvin.
Spinning wheel and fireplace used in this drama.
Jacob: Grandmother, we were talking to-day at school about the early days of Henderson-the time when you were young, when the Newlees, Merediths, Patricks, Ayres, and Culbreths lived around here. Tell me about the trains those days.
Grandmother: Trains, why bless you child there were no trains here those days. No indeed, people around Henderson saw no trains, when I was a girl.
Jacob: Why grandmother how did people get from one place to another, and how did you get mail?
Grandmother: Those days people rode on horseback then, too, stage coaches jogged over the sandy roads to carry passengers and mail. The stagecoach that came nearest to us came from Easton and went to the head of the Sassafras River. It stopped at Mel- ville, for our postoffice was there then.
Jacob: How did people know when the stagecoach was com- ing and where did they wait for it if they wanted to take a ride?
Grandmother: Tra-ra-ra-the postillion would blow his horn long and loud as he neared villages, crossroads, or inns. County folks all around would gather at the stopping places to see the stagecoach pass. This didn't happen every day remember, once
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or twice a week perhaps. (Grandmother looks over her glasses and says:)
Ah! those were merry days, and it was a jolly time when the old stagecoach drew up before the postoffice door. While the mail was taken off, if any passengers were waiting they took their seats in the coach if the day was rainy; or on the top if the day was warm and fair, travelers chatted with the country folks who had gathered to hear the news. When all was ready the postillion blew his horn the driver cracked his whip, the people cheered and amid the barking of the dogs which had come along with their masters the coach was off on its journey.
Ah! those were merry days. Will I ever forget them! (Grand- mother takes off her spectacles, wipes them, puts them on again.) Jacob: What became of the stagecoaches, grandmother? We never see them now.
Grandmother: When this Delaware and Chesapeake Railroad came through Henderson the stagecoach seemed old fashioned and slow but that is another story for another day when you want to hear more about Henderson's early history.
OLIVIA M. COFFIN.
4
HOMINY MORTAR & PESTLE.
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CASTLE HALL.
Built by Thomas Hardcastle in 1781.
GOLDSBORO.
The history of Goldsboro dates back to the comple- tion of the D. & C. railroad in 1867. At this time there were only three houses in the village, with a population of nine persons. It was then called Oldtown, as it was situated on Oldtown Lane.
As everyone knows, a railroad is always an advant- age to a section through which it runs, so the country folks around soon become interested, and one of their first desires was to give the village a more modern name. Therefore in 1870, as the land surrounding the village was owned by Dr. G. W. Goldsborough, the name was changed from Oldtown to Goldsborough.
In 1871 the road running to Sandy Island was open- ed, and in 1873 the road running north past the Hard- castle farm was opened. A few years later a cannery was built by Mr. Robert Jarrell. This is still in opera- tion.
The first merchant was Thomas R. Smith, of Dela- ware. He was succeeded by Isaac J. Reed, who was burned out. The railroad facilities, and canning indus- try caused growth of the village. In 1889 Mr. T. Jarman opened a store. In 1907 Mr. J. F. Lane opened one. These were followed by Mr. A. G. Dennison, Mr. A. C. Smith, and Mr. H. L. Morris. The population increased until it now numbers about two hundred.
Castle Hall, the ancestral home of the Hardcastle family, is located a little to the north of the village.
Thomas Hardcastle, the founder of this estate and the builder of the present building at present owned and occupied by J. Spencer Lapham, purchased several hun- dred acres of land from Capt. John Fauntleroy about 1775.
It seems likely that shortly after Thomas Hardcastle settled at Castle Hall a school was provided, a piece of land being set apart for the purpose and a building erect- ed. This seems to have been the original Castle Hall School.
With the growth of the community this school be- came semi-private and was attended by the boys and girls of the neighborhood.
Started about 1820 Castle Hall served as a site for the school for the white children until 1898 when the
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front of the Goldsboro school was erected and Castle Hall school given over to the colored people.
The church which belongs to the Southern Methodist denomination was built in 1871 through a committee of five men, one of whom was Robert Jarrell, father of the present Robert Jarrell, Sr. The site was granted by Thomas Jones.
Before the erection of the church, Sunday School was held in the old Dennison home on the Henderson road.
By 1909 Goldsboro had grown to be a prosperous village with considerable banking business. To meet this situation several representative men organized a state bank, rented a room in Jarman Bros. building, and began business. By 1912 business had grown so rapidly that a new building was found necessary and was built the same year.
Sandy Island bridge which spans the Choptank river a mile east of the village is a concrete structure 200 feet in length and was completed in 1919. By means of this bridge and the excellent shell road leading into Dela- ware, Goldsboro has become the shipping centre for a large territory extending east, and perhaps ranks next to Ridgely as a forwarding point.
BRIDGETOWN.
Nine Bridges, latterly called Bridgetown, is a small village located near the Queen Anne county line. This settlement has the distinction of being the first incorpo- rated village in our county, as well as being a well known trading centre nearly one hundred years ago.
Located, as it is, near the headwaters of the Tuck- ahoe river, the causeway leading into Queen Anne coun- ty was at one time said to have nine small bridges which have been gradually reduced in number to a single con- crete structure of considerable size.
When the county was young, a family by the name of Mason was so prominent in this section that the branch nearby took its name therefrom.
In this section also in Revolutionary War times a company of soldiers was assembled, some of whom per- haps entered the service.
Another indication of the early importance of the place is seen in the establishment of a church just across the line on the Queen Anne side. At this time
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much rivalry existed between the villages of Hillsboro, Greensboro, and Bridgetown, each of which fought for the honor of having an Episcopal church erected within its limits. Hillsboro won out, but soon after a chapel was erected at Bridgetown, bricks, shells, mortar, etc., for which were hauled from a wharf along the Choptank river.
From 1830 on until the Civil War Bridgetown was the home of a noted citizen and slave trader-Marcy Fountain, whose remains were interred in the village church yard. The house in which this man lived is still standing in the village. A cellar beneath is pointed out as the dungeon in which slaves were confined either for safekeeping or disobedience. It is supposed he was associated in the slave trade with Patty Cannon, a well known character residing near Federalsburg.
In this locality also, one of the first canneries of the Eastern Shore is supposed to have been located. This was in 1867. Peaches were the fruit canned.
Earlier than this a hotel and tavern were kept in a. brick building which has ceased to exist.
Long before 1865 a public school existed in the neighborhood. Bridgetown is on the proposed line of the state highway extending from Ridgely to a point be- vond Goldsboro.
With the rising energy of the present generation, who knows but what this heretofore sleepy village will outdistance its competitors ?
BEE TREE.
For nearly one hundred years the neighborhood of which the present Bee Tree school is the centre has been known by the name of Bee Tree, presumably called by virtue of there being so many swarms of bees in this section.
For years this community has supported a school. public or otherwise, and history recalls that many well known persons have either studied or taught in this in- stitution. Trustees for the school were first appointed by the School Commissioners in 1865.
In 1886 the present site was purchased from Thomas D. Merrick and a new building erected. This school is located not far from Melville's Cross Roads, a well known place during the time of the late Wm. H. Casho.
Because of the inaccessibility to trade, many Tories
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lived in this section during the Revolutionary War and made trouble for the American cause. Later on the sec- tion was made famous by the legislative efforts put forth to drain the surrounding territory-a thing which was never fully realized.
BARCUS.
Barcus school, better known as "Dogwood College," has been for thirty years situated on the road leading from Greensboro to the Union colored settlement.
Originally named for the person who owned much land in the community and contributed the first site, it has had at least three locations and as many buildings. The present building was erected in 1895.
Owing to the school's being once nearly surrounded by dog wood trees, the term "Dogwood College" has tenaciously clung to the little institution.
0
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MOORE'S.
In 1856, Thomas Moore came from Sussex County, Delaware, and bought a large tract of land for fifty cents an acre along the east side of the Choptank river, ex- tending from the. shell road to what is often called the Zimmerman farm. On this land he built a grist mill and a saw mill.
Mr. Moore, seeing the need of educational facilities for his neighborhood succeeded with the help of others in getting a school house built in 1857 or 8. It was erect- ed on land given by Betsy Baynard.
The first teacher in this building was David Moore, a son of Thomas Moore. Since he was the first teacher and his people were so influential in obtaining the school, it has been called Moore's School. Robert Baggs, a northern man, was also among the first teachers.
About twenty-seven years ago some of the leading people of the district, among who was David Greenlee, were in favor of moving the schoolhouse to what seemed to them a more central location. David Greenlee had a road put through from the Greensboro-Hollandsville road to the Moore Mill Lane, as the road which the school was then on, was called. The building was finally moved to a central location on this new road and placed on land given by William Hutson. Here it stood with- out any change until 1912, when it could no longer ac- commodate the large crowd of children attending, when a large room was built in front of the old one.
Before Moore's school was built it is said an old log
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schoolhouse stood on the Zimmerman farm near Betsy Baynard's land. There was also once a log schoolhouse, near what is now called "The Cool Spring," between the lands of Wilmer Draper and Thomas Bilbrough.
Betsy Baynard was a large land owner and slave holder. Her old home was about a half mile northwest from our school along the east side of the Choptank River.
Some stories : Miss Baynard was good to her slaves. After the Civil War her slaves were free, but many of them came back, finding they could not make a living. One poor ignorant woman when told she was free gath- ered up her husking pegs and other belongings, strung them about her body and started off in high spirits. After many days she came stumbling back, ragged and nearly starved to death.
Betsy had two sorrel horses which her servants had trained. When they wanted to ride these horses, they would hit them on the knee and say "Get down" and these horses would get down on their knees and stay there until the rider was on their back.
Betsy Baynard's slaves had their gala times. One man relates how they sometimes had a "husking bee" in the evening followed by a big dinner, music, dancing, games, and wine.
One of Betsy Baynard's slaves, Marie Hawkins, was about fifty years old when the Civil War ended. Miss Baynard did not want Marie to leave her, so gave Marie a lot close by the Choptank River and built a log house thereon.
The people of this community, (Moore's district), feeling the need of a suitable house of worship set to work to erect one in 1873.
Betsy Baynard gave the land for the church site, which is just across the road from her home, and also lumber for the building. This was about five years be- fore her death.
Rev. John Irvin, a Methodist for whom the chapel was named, was the first preacher. David Greenlee was the class leader.
Prior to the building of this church, services were held in the old schoolhouse.
John Irvin also preached at Cedar Grove Chapel and the Kent County, Delaware, Almshouse. His re- mains lie in the Cedar Grove graveyard. - Contributed.
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SUMMER RESIDENCE OF A. A. CHRISTIAN.
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GREENSBORO (Choptank Bridge).
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