Talbot County

Saturday, May 11, 2024

10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

 

The Talbot 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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Talbot County is steeped in more than 350 years of American history. Named in honor of Lady Grace, wife of Sir Robert Talbot and sister of Cecilius Calvert, second Lord Baltimore, Talbot County was settled by the English about 1661. The Chesapeake Bay and five navigable tributaries—the Choptank, Tred Avon, Miles, Tuckahoe and Wye Rivers—provide more than 600 miles of picturesque waterfront and fertile croplands to Talbot County.  The manor houses along the creeks and bays face the waters that brought guests and trade from across the Chesapeake and around the world.  Easton, once known as “Talbot Town,” became the county seat by an act of the Maryland Legislature in 1778. Much of the early legal and political history of the United States originated in Talbot County, which is justifiably proud of its history and the loving restoration and preservation of so many of its prominent public buildings, historic homes and gardens, such as those you will see today.

 

Co-Chairs: Kim Eckert,  kaeckertdesign @gmail.com; Zandi Nammack,  zandinammack @gmail.com Advisors: Caroline Benson and Eleanor Denegre. Committee Chairs: Advertising: Louise Peterson. Flowers: Mary Helen Cobb. House Selection: Sally Akridge, Caroline Benson, Laura Carney, Christine Dayton, Nancy Thompson. Hospitality: Georgia Adler and Susie Granville. Hostess: Chloe Pitard. Luncheon: Madeleine Cohen. Mapping: Caroline Benson and Nancy Thompson. Parking and Ambassadors: Colleen Doremus and Carolyn Rugg. Patron Letter: Pat Lewers. Photography: Laura Carney and Marsie Hawkinson. Publicity: Pam Keeton and Rita Mhley. Rack Cards: Rebecca Gaffney. Script: Kim Eckert, Zandi Nammack and Sara Robins. Tour Bells: Caroline Benson. Treasurer: Virginia Sappington, TCGC President: Maribeth Lane.

 

Special Projects: Proceeds from the Talbot County Tour will be used to fund preservation and restoration projects at two churches in Trappe: Scotts United Methodist Church and St. Paul’s Church, White Marsh Parish. The original structure of Scotts United Methodist Church dates back to the 17th century and belonged to the Quakers of the Trappe area. In 1867, they joined the Friends Meeting in Easton and turned the building over to the African American community of Trappe. The church became part of the Methodist Episcopal Church and was named for Bishop Levi Scott. The present structure still has the original windows in the sanctuary. Displayed in the building are items describing the church’s rich history, including information about Nathaniel “Nace” Hopkins, one of the founders and trustee of the church 150 years ago. Nace was a Civil War veteran and leader in Trappe’s Black community and built the town’s first Black school. “Nace’s Day” is observed annually in Trappe to celebrate the emancipation of Maryland’s enslaved people. This year it will be observed on November 2, 2024. Currently, water runoff is threatening to damage the foundation of this historical church. In order to preserve the structure, water mitigation through grading, proper drainage and plantings will be undertaken. The oldest church on the Eastern Shore in which public worship was conducted was White Marsh Church which served Easton, Trappe and Oxford. It was built in the 1670s and remained a place of worship for over 200 years. By 1856, Christ Church in Easton and Holy Trinity in Oxford drew much of the congregation of White Marsh Church away. It then stood alone three miles north of the main population center in Talbot County. Though embracing the ancient parish church, the new church building of White Marsh Parish was erected in Trappe and named St. Paul’s Church in 1858, and it soon became the focus of parish life. White Marsh Church remained the official parish church until a brush fire destroyed the building in 1897. Nothing remains of the original wood frame church, other than the ruins of the 1745 brick addition. St. Paul’s Church, White Marsh Parish and the Old White Marsh Cemetery wall ruin need brick restoration and repair due to deterioration over time and “souvenir theft” of up to 75% of the original White Marsh brick addition. Funds from the Talbot County Tour will help to defray the significant cost of replacing and repointing the brick in both structures.

 

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