The Obama Express Rolls Through Elkton

Elkton Town Administrator, Lewis George, was at the Elkton station Saturday when the Obama Express came rolling past the old railroad depot.  He said:  “I took this photograph of  then President-elect Barack Obama’s train blitz through Elkton on Saturday, January 17, 2009, at around 2:30 p.m………..as I stood in the midst of a very cold and patient, but warm and cheering crowd of citizens gathered along the Old North Road RR tracks near Immaculate Conception.”

Thanks Lewis for allowing us to post these excellent shots here.

The president-elect's coach passes Elkton station

 

 

 

 

 

Many Presidents Rode the Rails

On this historic day when people all along the northeast corridor between Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. greeted the nation’s 44th president, Barack Obama, we look at a few other times when the nation’s leaders came through the county on the rails.  It was a frequent occurrence in the era before air travel became common. 

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Riding Cecil’s First Railroad – The seventh president of the United States, Andrew Jackson, rode Cecil’s first little railroad, the New Castle and Frenchtown during his administration (1829 – 1837). 

Lincoln Sidetracked at Elkton — The 16th President took a flying trip to West Point in June 1862.  On his return to Washington, D.C. his train was put on the siding at Elkton to let a Philadelphia bound express pass by.   During 15 to 20-minutes the “special lay off on the switch” a number of people shook the President’s hand and exchanged a few words of conversation with “Old Abe.”   Two years later (June 1864) when Lincoln made an appearance in Philadelphia, the railroad let him pass right through without delay.  It provided a special train for the wartime executive and the locomotive, gaily decorated with flags rushed past Elkton with a “shrill scream” from its steam Whistle.

Grant’s Destination, Elkton – May 18, 1872, was like no other day in Elkton history.  On that day the distant smoke of a locomotive steaming toward the railroad station announced that President Ulysses S. Grant was approaching the county seat.  The president and Mrs. Grant stepped from the train and were greeted by a crowd of people.  The party was here for an overnight stay with Postmaster General Creswell. 

Whistle Stop Tour Brings Taft – In May 1912, William Howard Taft in an all-day speech making tour campaigned in Elkton.  Arriving by special train, he found houses and businesses elaborately decorated in his honor.   Excitement filled the streets as he rode to the Howard Hotel in the automobile of William T. Warburton.  Speaking for about an hour from the porch of the Howard Hotel, he hurried back to his train for whistle stop in Aberdeen. 

Roosevelt Waits for at Perryville — The 26th President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt, left office in 1909 but in 1912 he decided to jump back into politics, running on the Progressive Ticket against William Howard Taft.  On a speechmaking tour in May 1912, a locomotive dropped his coach at Perryville where it had to wait for another engine to take it across the bridge.  When word spread everyone who could get away from him home or business gathered to get a glimpse of the ex-president.  Hearing the cheering Roosevelt came out on the platform and spoke to the crowd.

Hoover Hurries Past – Immediately after Franklin Delano Roosevelt took the oath of office in March 1933, Herbert Hoover, the chief executive who had served when the stock market crashed and the nation spiraled downward into the depression, made his exit from Washington D.C.  Speeding to New York City on the Pennsylvania Railroad, the weary ex-president was piloted by an engineer from Perryville, Harry Fay.  As passenger extra 5385 swiftly passed through the county, the train averaged 60-miles an hour. 

Hundreds Turn Out to Greet President-Elect Barack Obama as Whistle Stop Express Rolls Through.

By the time the Whistle Stop Express rolled across the Mason-Dixon Line into Maryland at 2:17 this afternoon, the mercury was still a couple of points short of the day’s high, 19-degrees.  But the artic air blanketing the Mid-Atlantic didn’t stop over 200-well wishers from waiting patiently in the bitter cold at the old Pennsylvania Railroad Depot in Elkton.  On down the 20-miles of line in Cecil the train rolled southward while smaller clusters of people in the outlying areas waited to get a glimpse of it on this historic day.  It was striking to see the lone people standing on a hillside not far from the tracks waving in this rural part of Maryland as the train came by, a CNN reporter aboard the press coach blogged.

When the locomotive pulling the 10 coaches came into view at Perryville’s restored passenger station the Mayor and Commissioners of Perryville and another crowd of over 200 people waved and cheered the president-elect’s party.  The Amtrak special crossed over the Susquehanna into Harford County at 2:35 p.m.  The vintage car faded slowly from view of the cheering crowd while President-elect Obama and Vice-President-Elect Biden seated comfortably inside rolled toward a date with history as they carried with them the hopes of the nation.

Falmanac has some great photos of the visit and posts.  Check it out.

 

Remembering Charles Caldwell, the Principal of George Washington Carver School

One of our fellow Cecil County Bloggers, “the Road to Compromise” has an interesting piece up about the respected, long time principal of George Washington Carver High School, Mr. Charles Caldwell.  He served the county Board of Education until the Booth Street school closed at the time of integration in Cecil County.  We thought our readers might find the piece to be of interest.  Click here to surf over to the article.

Remembering U.S. Colored Troops From Cecil County

On the day before Christmas Eve, I paused for a few minutes in a quiet country cemetery sitting atop a knoll near Pleasant Hill. A chilling December breeze gently swept over this old burial ground in the shadows of the Griffith A.U.M.P. Church as I gazed at monuments of soldiers, ministers, teachers, mothers, fathers, and children. Almost directly in front of me flags flapping in the breeze drew my attention to three United States Government issued tombstones for soldiers with the U. S. Colored Troops. In the distance, I saw more flags marking veterans from most of the country’s wars. Nothing in this tranquil spot, noise, automobiles or people, distracted me as I thought about the period these people lived in and how times have marched continually onward.

It was February 26, 1864, when the three brave young men from Cecil County enlisted in the infantry with the 30th Regiment, Company C of the United States Colored Troops.  Rev. John Webster was one of the soldiers. Private Webster mustered out of the service on December 10, 1865. He died on August 28, 1890, from typhoid fever at the age of about 55 and left a number of small children, his wife having died about a year earlier.  In announcing his death the Elkton Appeal of September 3, 1890, said: “Rev John Webster, a very respected colored man, living near Warburton’s mill died on Friday last. He had been suffering with typhoid fever for some time. . . He served in the war and was an honest and industrious man. . . .” It noted that his funeral took place on Sunday at Cedar Hill A.U.M.P. Church.  Jackson Janes, born December 12, 1864, was mustered out on March 28, 1865.  He passed away on June 5, 1892.  Private Cyrus T. Wesley mustered out on June 17, 1865. 

These men and the other people in this final resting place lived, raised families, worked, and died in this community as time continued its onward march. They labored on the land, fought bravely for the nation, ministered to the Griffith A.U.M.P. congregation, taught at Cedar Hill School, and raised families here and each of these cold old stones has many stories that could be told.  The church that is the center of this community, Griffith A.U.M.P., was dedicated on Saturday June 7, 1874, at services conducted by the Rev E. W. Scott.  The Choir from the Providence Church was there to assist in the ceremony.  The church is named for Benjamin Griffith, a resident of the area, since he donated the land for the church and nearby school. 

Having spent a revitalizing few minutes gazing and walking reflectively through a country graveyard, I felt a closer connection with our past as I drove home to my family and the rapidly approaching Christmas holiday. I decided that as soon as the holiday was over I’d see if I could find out a little more about privates Janes, Webster and Wesley, three pioneers from  the county at a time when the nation was torn by the issues of slavery and the Civil War.  Atop a hill in northeastern Cecil in the peaceful little community of Cedar Hill, as Christmas neared, it was a good day to recall the sacrifices for freedoom that these three African-Americans from the northeastern corner of Maryland and others made during the Civil War.