Cecil County
Perryville & Charlestown
Saturday, May 4, 2024
10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
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The Cecil County tour of 2024 has concluded. We thank the many pilgrims who joined us for a day of touring. Thank you to the generous homeowners who opened their homes and gardens for visitors to enjoy. Thank you also to the many volunteers who made this experience possible.
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Co-Chairs: Karl Fockler, and Pamela Mahan, Committee Chairs: Treasurer: Ken Confalone. Script: Jenifer Pitt, Karl Fockler, Paige Tilghman, and Jack Thompson, Junior.
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Special Project: The MHGP 2024 Cecil County Tour will dedicate funds to two projects; the Colonial Charlestown Water Tower and the Rodgers Tavern Museum in Perryville.
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The legacy of Cecil County owes much to its strategic location, situated at the mouth of the Susquehanna River, on the Upper Chesapeake Bay of Maryland, connecting the Baltimore metropolitan area with Philadelphia and sharing borders with both Delaware and Pennsylvania. Captain John Smith’s exploration of the Chesapeake Bay, in 1608, documents great activity by the inhabitants at the mouth of the Susquehanna River. The county was named after Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron of Baltimore. It was created by a land grant from Lord Baltimore in 1674, that included the Susquehanna and the additional four rivers: North East, Elk, Bohemia and Sassafras, at a time when everything and everyone moved by water. The early colonists were quick to use and improve the rivers and trails that became toll roads and waterways and figured prominently through British occupation and the history of America. Today, these avenues are recognized as major highway systems (MD Route 40 and the I-95 corridor); railroad lines for CSX and Norfolk Southern; Amtrak commuter rail lines; and the C&D Canal, built 1824 to 1829, connecting the Chesapeake Bay with the Atlantic Ocean. The county provides recreation for residents and tourists with access to its river systems and 200 miles of Chesapeake Bay shoreline and access to over 11,000 acres of reserved land such as Elk Neck State Park, the Elk Neck State Forest, and Fair Hill Natural Resource Area. Both Charlestown and Perryville are experiencing restoration and renovation of historic architectural structures that illustrate the unique heritage of these river towns. Sites like the 1719 Principio Iron Works and Furnace, located midway between Perryville and Charlestown on MD Route 7, are now marked on Scenic Byways as one of the most successful colonial ironworks in the 18th century, producing cannonballs for the American Revolution. These tours and sites are increasing in popularity and highlighted on National Road and Scenic Byway tours. Chesapeake Country All American Road video—https://www.visitmaryland. org/scenic-byways/Chesapeake-country. Lower Susquehanna Scenic Byway video—https:/www.visitmaryland. org/scenic-byways/lower-Susquehanna. The MHGP Cecil County Tour offers Perryville and Charlestown historic homes and sites for an authentic look at colonial history period, history, and Cecil County's strategic transportation history
Charlestown, located on the North East River, was established in 1742, by Act of Maryland Assembly for “the encouragement of Trade and Navigation as the surest means of promoting the happiness and increasing the riches...” It served as a British colonial port, with a wharf and three-story warehouse to ensure that only quality flour would be sold and shipped. The town was a major stop along the Old Post Road, between Baltimore and Philadelphia in the 1700s and became a major supply depot for the Continental Army. Much of the Revolutionary architecture remains in the town today, as well as later period structures from the Federal and Victorian Periods. The town seeks to invest in a Victorian wooden structure to crown the original water tower, a prominent and iconic landmark for Colonial Charlestown. (www.charlestownmd.org) Perryville will invest MHGP Funds in Rodgers Tavern Museum, one of the few surviving examples of an 18th century Georgian style Tavern and Public House in Maryland and now owned by the Town of Perryville. Rodgers Tavern was opened in 1750 and was also known as Stevens Tavern. Early on it was active as the Lower Susquehanna Ferry site. The Rodgers Tavern Museum describes the evolution of America’s transportation history from 1695 to today. Rodgers Tavern played a key role in the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 by providing lodging and ferrying troops and cargo. Documents confirm the Lower Susquehanna Ferry conveyed 4,000 French and 1,100 American Troops during the march to Yorktown, VA in 1781. Funds raised from the MHGP will support funding for a roof replacement. www.rodgerstavern.com
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