Many of the buildings listed on the Walking Tour are private residences, and we request that you do not intrude on the privacy of the owners.
14 North Main Street, Abrahams Building c. before 1867
This is the present site of House #1 of the Water Witch Fire Company. The fire company has remodeled the second floor for a social hall. Earlier, it was here that the Roman Catholics first held local services. It was once a home, a hardware store, and in 1867, a Post Office. It was also, the location for The National Durant Sales by Hipkins and Paxton, the place where Hipkins invented the Hipkins Traction Device for tanks which was used by the Army. and later the home of Hagerty Buick Sales.
20 North Main Street, The Banking House c. before 1834
The circa date of 1834 is known only through reference to the building as having housed the "the first bank in Port Deposit". In 1856 the property was owned by Edwin Wilmer who "owned wharves from which vessels sailed." and later became a trustee of the Methodist Church and is believed to have been the building in which early services were held. The 1860 census shows the property being owned by Nathaniel Gilmore, a 49 year old Sea Captain and, by 1880, the property owner is noted as J.J. Abrahams. In the 1890's it became part of the Jacob Tome Institute and housed faculty. The construction of the wings enlarged the building to house the Junior School and was named Jefferson Hall. The completed project was not seen by Jacob Tome for he died in 1898, but the structure remained a school until 1969 at which time it suffered a serious fire and was left in ruins until 1985. The building has been rehabilitated as a 20 unit apartment building. The building is constructed of Port Deposit granite with an impressive Greek Revival portico, supported by stuccoed brick columns that extend across the facade.
29 North Main Street, c. 1902
Built towards the end of the Victorian era, this 14 room home has the structure of a painted lady without the trimmings. It's original owner was a young dentist, who made his office on the left side of the building. Today the property serves a single family residence. To the rear of the property is a cottage being considered for a commercial use. This property is currently being restored by Mr. Bruno, the current owner and ardent community volunteer.
32 North Main Street Buck House, c. 1887
Built by George H. Buck for his wife and six children, this house was a place of refuge for the entire neighborhood during flooding, an almost annual event until 1928. Terracing behind the house provided space for gardening and a site for the spring which furnished water to this large, spacious home. The basement was used for food preparation as is evident by the large cook's fireplace. All of the woodwork in the house is American Chestnut and the main staircase, as well as the floors, are heartwood oak. As was typical of the era, there is a clear distinction between the moldings used in the upper floors and those used in the main level; the higher the level the less fanciful is the detailing. Also of interest, on a similar note, is the detailing of the cornices adorning the exterior of the house. The sides facing the public have a great deal of Victorian scroll work; the other sides are less ornate.
36 North Main Street, c. 1838
Originally the land was part of the estate of John Creswell. A deed of September 4, 1838, recorded a 99 year lease on the lot of ground and premises. As was the practice of the time, the first floor provides space for commercial enterprise while the upper floors serve as living quarters. In the early 1920's the Flabbi's operated a shoe shop in the store front and lived upstairs. The Graybeals had a bait and tackle shop in the middle of the century and today the store front serves a commercial endeavor.
41 North Main Street, c. 1850's
This two-story, two-bay brick house has stone trim and a dentiled cornice. A Greek Revival period door is flanked by paneled shutters. The one-story Victorian porch, with a wealth of jig-sawn decoration, is probably a later addition.
53 North Main Street, The Former Municipal Building c.1868
The buildings cost was shared equally by: The Board of Town Commissioners, who owned the first floor and used it as an engine and wheel house; and the Board of County Commissioners, who held school on the second floor; and The Harmony Lodge, which owned the third floor. The Knights of the Golden Eagle purchased the second floor in 1897 and they sold it to Harmony Lodge in 1920. Harmony Lodge still owns both the second and third floors and the town still owns the first floor.
58 North Main Street, c. early 1800's
This very old three-story and basement frame house is in good condition. In the dining room is a large fireplace with crane still intact. The ceilings are low and the stairs narrow, steep and winding. There is a spring up the hill which once supplied the house with water. Mr. George McCullough bought the property March 3, 1867 and it remained in his family until 1952. Mrs. Minnie McCullough Campbell bought the ground rents in March 1923 from Mrs. Sidney Johnson upon expiration of the 99-year leases, seeming to indicate that these lots were first rented in 1824.
68 North Main Street, c. 1894
Known locally as the Swiss Chalet, this house was built as the office for McClenahan Quarry Company and a granite vault with 30 inch thick walls was located in the west end of the room now the kitchen. The building was converted to a home about 1915. In the modernizing, the original fire brick, steel beams and granite window bars were retained. It contains a handsome Port Deposit granite fireplace with a polished granite mantle. This was the home of Mrs. Grace Humphries, founder of the Port Deposit heritage Corporation.
71 North Main Street, c. 1860
This property consisted of two lots, Nos. 5 & 6, and was surveyed in November of 1833 by John Janney. The building is a 12-room duplex built by the Vannort Brothers just prior to 1860. It is constructed around a large six-unit chimney built of both bricks and granite. The floor joist were shaped by using a pick ax or mattock, then notched and pinned together. Floor boards were shimmed to ensure leveling. The basement is equipped with two large open fireplaces. The ceiling and walls were finished with plaster suggesting that the basement was used as a summer kitchen to escape the heat of the season.
73 North Main Street, c. 1905
This granite and brick house was built by Millard McDowell on a lot originally part of the property of the older home beyond, and was designed by his son. For a time it was occupied by Dr. Clarence Benson. Note the Palladian window in the third floor.
75 North Main Street, c. early 1800's
This Greek Revival house was reportedly one of the thirteen homes when Port Deposit officially became a town in 1812. Walls of the stone section are 26-inches thick. The frame part was rebuilt in 1881 by Clinton McCullough and the roof is covered with sheet iron from the McCullough Rolling Mills in Rowlandsville. There was a cistern in the kitchen attic to which water was piped from the spring up the street (58 North Main Street). Since 1830 this house has had eleven different owners, six of them being women.
88-94 North Main Street, c. late 1800's
This four-part, two-and-a-half story row house, in Second Empire style, is covered with German siding and has a high mansard roof with bracketed eaves. The pedimented dormers have decorative bargeboards, and a one-story porch with jig-sawn woodwork stretches across the front of all four units. The tall windows on the first story have triple-hung sashes.
93 North Main Street, The Vannort House c. 1840
This distinguished frame house is of the Greek Revival period with a small porch of the Ionic Order-a Greek temple. The home has front and rear dormers and tripartite windows. Originally built as a duplex, the side nearest Nesbitt Hall was destroyed by a fire. For over 100 years this was the home of the Vannort family including two sons known as "skilled woodworkers and craftsmen" and a daughter Laura. It is the two brothers that built the 71 North Main St. After the passing of the elder Vannorts the children remained living together, at times "none too peacefully" it is rumored. None of the offspring ever married and Miss Laura was the last to leave, upon her passing; she was in her 90's.
98 North Main Street, Paw Paw Building c. 1821
Originally this was a one story building. When owned by I.O.O.F. the second story was added and the outside stuccoed and is characteristic of many buildings dating to the 1840's and 1850's in Port Deposit. Its name derives from two paw paw bushes which flank the entrance. It was built in 1821 as the town's first Methodist Church and had separate entrances for men and women. There was a high pulpit on one side of the balcony where slaves sat, reached only by an outside entrance.
The building was later used as a meeting hall by Harmony Lodge (1852-67), as an academy, a store and a restaurant. In 1975 the building was purchased by the Port Deposit Heritage Corporation to be restored for use as a museum and library.
99 North Main Street, Nesbitt Hall c. 1837
In 1837 the Methodists raised money to build their 2nd church. This handsome structure was built of Port Deposit Granite and remained a house of worship until 1872 when Tome Memorial Church was built. It then became Port Deposit Academy, a public school. In 1902 it was refurbished, named Nesbitt Hall and presented to Tome Church by Mrs. Evelyn S. Nesbitt, in memory of her parents. The building is now used for church related and community affairs and is the meeting place of the Port Deposit Lions Club.
104 North Main Street, Tome Memorial Methodist Church c. 1872
With its tall tower of stone, this church of Port Deposit granite was rendered in a revival of its architectural style, German Romanesque. A gift of Jacob Tome, it cost $65,999.00. It houses a John Steere organ built in 1910. Under the floor cover in the lower hall one used to notice several one inch holes bored to accelerate recession of frequent flood waters.
North Main Street, Old Sorrel before 1803
This was an old inn and, according to Cecil County, Maryland- A Study in Local History by Alice Miller, it was alluded to in the following reference: "In 1803, mails for Brick Meeting House, Rising Sun, Unicorn, Black Horse, and Sorrel House closed every Friday at 12 o'clock noon." Mr. Ernest Baker, who was born in this house, said his mother was also born here. His grandparents started out housekeeping in this house. He recalls a small poster in the cellar which stated that the stage left once a week for Conowingo, Rising Sun, etc. He thinks it gave the day and the time. He knows that in the cellar a mahogany bar was across the back and that his family used the part behind it as a coal bin. One side of this house was once a bake shop; a stone oven was in the back wall.
160 North Main Street, The Springhouse c. 1856
This granite springhouse was used by the Old Sorrel, an inn that was built around 1803. The structure, built over a spring, was probably used for cool storage of dairy products and meat. The eagle above the door of the Springhouse gives the date of 1856. The exterior and granite were restored in 1991 with a grant from the Cecil County Historical Society.
162 North Main Street St., Teresa's Roman Catholic Church c. 1867
This beautiful, late Federal style, church of St. Teresa of Avila was constructed of Port Deposit Granite and was the mother parish for Good Shepherd. Sunday mass was first offered here by the priest from Havre de Grace. Father John D. Carey was the first Elkton pastor to officiate regularly in Port Deposit. Services were first held in Abrahams Building (now Water Witch Fire Company) and later in the Bank House.
196 North Main Street, Bethel A.M.E. Methodist Church c. 1911
In 1911 the congregation moved to this location. Prior to its construction, members came together at many sites around town. As reported in a book compiled by the membership for their 100th anniversary..."It was in the year 1848 when slaves were rampant and friends of the race were few, and despite the fact that they were all slaves they had an inner urge to pray to God and hope for a better day. A few of the slaves met secretly and prayed to God." After their number swelled, they decided to meet in the home of Rachel Gibson where the first praying Mission was started. The first Bethel A.M.E. Church was built in Bethel Hollow (at the extreme south end of town). In 1966 this building suffered major damage caused by a fire. One year later while undergoing reconstruction, the congregation moved back in although the project was not completed until 1970.
282 North Main Street, First Baptist Church c. 1872
This large stone church was originally a Presbyterian House of Worship. The construction date is linked to a Rev. John Squire for that is the date this first pastor "assumed charge." In 1902 it became the First Baptist Church. There was probably an earlier church near this site as evidenced by a letter from Guyas Cutas to the editor of the Cecil Whig, dated 1876, entitled Port Deposit: Forth Years Ago and Now..." there are two churches belonging to the colored people...". Over the speaker's platform in the first floor meeting room are three pictures, one of which is of Rev. Benjamin Brown who was chairman of the meeting in 1898 at which the First Baptist Church was legally organized. Rev. Brown is said to have mortgaged his home to obtain this building for his congregation in 1904. For many years, in the mid-twentieth century, Rev. St. Paul Freeman shepherded this church. The church has recently undergone a meticulous restoration.
300 North Main Street, Old Mill c. 1700's
There was probably a mill here by 1731. The following is quoted from a letter written by Rumsey Smithson in 1938: "A survey of 1735 mentions a grist mill at Rock Run in possession of John Steele; `In that year some of the uppermost inhabitants of Cecil County on the Susquehanna River presented a petition which sheweth that a ferry is kept at a place called Rock Run, which place being the nearest navigable water that any vessel of any considerable burden can come up to, to which place they were obligated to roll their tobacco, in order to be shipped off' they therefore prayed for a road from Peach Bottom (now Lancaster County, Pa.) to the said Rock Run Mill and from there to the said ferry place."
In the Revolutionary Period: "Those in favor of the King were requested to leave the area. They moved to Harford County. General Washington crossed the river at this point on his long marches. Lafayette also made it a point to stop at this section, as old Annie Presberry was a good cook."
1799: "At this point was the beginning of the Pennsylvania-Maryland Canal, the first artificial inland waterway in the United States. The Old Mill was used for making flour, a section later for making early American furniture and later the complete mill was used for a brush factory, then for flour making in 1900, then in 1905 brush making again and in 1912 the making of flour and in 1916 to the making of sausage and scrapple and general butchering."
Center Street serves as the divide between North and South Main Street. Proceeding toward the Susquehanna River will take you across the railroad tracks to the "Riverwalk" at Tome's Landing. This public walkway offers outstanding waterfront vistas.
1 Center Street, Mrs. Murphy's Hotel early 1800's
The stone part of the house is constructed in the Federal style. Documents found in the Paw Paw Museum show that Mr. John Creswell owned this house in the 1820's. John A.J. Creswell, his son, was born here in 1828 and became Postmaster General under President Grant. His father died in 1836 leaving the house, a wharf and property, including most of the land on the upper side of the street as far as Rock Run, to Rebecca E. Webb Creswell, his widow. In 1850 Rebecca married Mr. Murphy and later established Murphy's Tavern. The property was sold to Dr. G.H. Richards, Sr. in 1920. He added a large wing to turn it into a hospital. Following his death the building was converted to an apartment house. Dr. G.H. Richards, Jr. had offices here from the late 1940's until his death in 1971.
Points of Interest
In addition to Mrs. Murphy's Hotel there are two additional sites of interest on Center Street. On the right, just above the rear of the bank, is a cellar hole of the Howard M.E. Church, and underground railroad site. A hundred yards further, on the left, granite ruins mark the place of Armstrong Foundry.
Town Square, Drinking Fountain c. 1903
Erected by Martha Beach, a teacher and artist, in memory of her mother, the fountain is inscribed, "In Remembrance, Miranda E. Beach, 1903". It was built to refresh horses, people and dogs. From the bank steps one can see a bird bath carved out of the top.
6 South Main Street, Cecil National Bank c. 1906
This building was constructed of Port Deposit Granite, faced in limestone and served the community some 78 years. The Cecil National Bank merged with The First National Bank of Maryland in 1981. After Wiley Manufacturing closed, the town could no longer support a full service bank and The First National Bank of Maryland closed this branch in 1984. In 1986 they made a gift of the structure to the town.
8 South Main Street, Carson Building c. late 1800's
Constructed right before the turn of the century, this quaint and charming building was home to Carson's Pharmacy for many years. The facade has been recently restored. Note the initials "CP" carved on the sides of the stone front step.
10 South Main Street, Oldham Building c. before 1897
This large 3 story Victorian was built by George Oldham. The first floor has always been a space for commercial enterprise, having originally be used for a general store. The upper floors are living quarters. Though the living quarters have been renovated many times, the formal rooms, which include a parlor, have been retained.
16 South Main Street, Gerry House c. 1813
This house is of late Georgian architectural style with Greek Revival porches. Lafayette was entertained here when he was a guest of the nation in 1824. At that time it was the home of Daniel and Mary R. Megredy. Lt. L.A.C. Gerry of Snow's Civil War Battery B inherited it from Cornelius Smith, who added the porches and railings. The columns were from trees razed on his land, and the cast iron porch railing, embellished with sheaves of wheat between lyres, denotes Mr. Smith's pride as a farmer. The railings were said to have been cast in Baltimore. Note the granite slabs used to support the second story. In 1981 the Port Deposit Heritage Corporation received this property from Miss Janette Westerfield, grand-daughter of L.A.C. Gerry and descendent of Mrs. Cornelius Smith. The exterior of this beautiful and historic house was restored by the Port Deposit Heritage Corporation and is now a private residence.
15-17 South Main Street, Winchester Hotel c. 1860's
When William Winchester bought the building in 1911 it was in use as a double dwelling. He opened a candy making business on the north side and later installed a soda fountain, and the family lived over the store. He did a lot of business with guests at the Falls' Hotel and the Tome "School for Boys", his homemade Easter eggs were famous. Ackers Dry Goods Store was on the south side. When Ralph, William's son, inherited the place he ran a bar on the south side until he retired about 1966. In the meantime Bittner's Restaurant was also flourishing. Six Bittner sisters had worked in the north side establishment from 1918, when Ella was employed to help, Alice and Anna became clerks when they were old enough. Mary and Gertrude Bittner Hopkins became proprietors of the restaurant in the 1940's. By 1946 Dorothy Bittner Luglio had come from Media to take over in Gertrude's place, Anna continued there, and about 1966 Ed and Dorothy Luglio bought the building. They found candy making equipment put away in the basement, including Easter egg molds and marble slabs for cooling chocolate.
19-21 South Main Street, Rappaport Building c. 1850's
This three-story, two-bay brick structure is characteristic of the Italianate period. The cornice is bracketed and has a lovely long side porch (several additions were added to the rear later). The display windows on the ground floor partially conceal two cast iron columns. The upper floors are now apartments.
20 South Main Street, c. 1857
This Federal style building was constructed on a lot sold by Cornelius Smith and was originally part of the Gerry House property. When constructed as a private residence the house had a gabled roof. The now present mansard roof was added to give more room when the property was converted to four apartments. After a fire, in 1991, the property was renovated to have a commercial space on the first floor and one apartment above.
26 South Main Street, Falls Hotel c. 1818
This building was erected by Cornelius Smith as a hotel and, until 1859, it was called Commercial and Farmers Hotel and was rented to Joseph McMullen of Perryville. From 1859 to 1876 it was owned by Robert Smith and was named Smith's Hotel. In 1892 John Falls bought it and it's name changed again, and remained Fall's Hotel until 1920. According to Mary Hohn Brady, granddaughter of John Falls, the hotel had an additional section extending south toward High Street. Its roof outline is still visible on the south end of the building. Over the years it has also served as a hardware store, restaurant and apartments.
23 South Main Street, Presbyterian Manse c.1856
James H. Rowland built this house and lived here until 1904 when the Presbyterian Church bought it for use as a manse. The pastors lived here until 1983, when the property was sold to a private owner. It is an example of a style of architecture which was popular in Port Deposit, Greek Revival, characterized by the three story height with the top story having very small windows. The closed shuttered windows are dummies used to achieve symmetry. The porch with its wide eaves and brackets and the ornamented columns give it its Italianate style.
38 South Main Street, c. 1840's
Although this is an early house, it has been altered with the addition of a bold Italianate porch with Romanesque columns and heavy bracketed eaves, brackets along the cornice, and two-story bay window with bracketed cornice at the south end. Quadruple brick chimneys rise at either end.
42 South Main Street, Nesbitt House c. 1888
Built in 1888 by Henry Clay Nesbitt whose parents lived next door, this house is a very fine example of Victorian Queen Anne architecture. In 1902 Evalyn Tome France, Jacob Tome's widow and the daughter of Mr. Nesbitt, bought the house and added the south bay window rooms and tower. In 1927, Mr. Chester T. Kimble bought the home and converted it to three apartments with the 3rd floor having its own entrance on High Street as well as a separate address (#6 High Street). The house was later owned by Mrs. Ryan, the daughter of C.T. Kimble, and her husband, H.F. Ryan (a past Mayor). The home has four very ornate tiled fireplaces, two sets of pocket doors, and beautiful carved arches as well as many other original details and its own bomb shelter, a relic of the Russian-U.S. confrontation over Cuba in the 1960's.
44 South Main Street, Port Deposit Presbyterian Church c. 1902
This church of Port Deposit granite, erected in 1902 in the Norman style, was largely a gift from James Harvey Rowland. The sanctuary has a handsome wooden beamed ceiling. The organ, with decorated pipes, was a gift from Mr. Rowland's son, Samuel, while the pews were donated by his daughter, Mary Rowland Platt. Most of the stained glass windows were commissioned as memorials. This was not the first Presbyterian church in town. The first one was built of stone in 1836, rebuilt in 1872, on a site where the First Baptist Church of Port Deposit now stands. As early as 1804, having no church building of their own, the Presbyterians were preached to from horse-back or standing on an upturned box by Rev. James Magraw, the minister from West Nottingham. When Rev. Magraw died in 1835 the congregation, in one month, raised $1924.58 to be used as part of the construction cost for their own church.
46-48 South Main Street, Touchstone House c. 1857
This lovely house is another example of the street level floor being built for storage with the living quarters in the upper floors because of floods and the granite underlying the town. There is now an apartment on the first floor. The upper stories are brick walled. The graceful bracketed eaves are typical of the Italianate period. Due to the narrow lot the porch was located on the side, permitting a front yard which for three generations has been a rose garden. The graceful iron fence was made by great-grandfather Touchstone at a neighboring foundry.
50 South Main Street, Schaeffer House c. 1836
The roof pediment distinguishes this house which was erected, in the Italianate style, as a single dwelling. There are five gables. During the 19th century it was expanded to its present size, 18 rooms. Two wings, the bay windows and curved windows were added. The house has wide white pine flooring, a black walnut staircase, five fireplaces and two attics. In the early 1930's the house was heated by steam piped from a lumber mill across the railroad track. An inspection plate to the original steam line can be seen on the sidewalk in front of the property.
52-58 South Main Street, Red Brick Row c. early 1800's
Red brick with granite accents lends color and texture to this Greek Revival style building. Note the pattern of brick on the street level floor and granite pillars. The cornice is also of brick. As in so many Port Deposit houses the basement is built at ground level with steps leading up to the living quarters above. It was impossible to dig a cellar through the granite ledge on which the town rests and the second stories were at a safe level when ice gorges came down the river. After Donaldson Brown purchased Mt.Ararat Farms, in 1936, he bought the Row House for employee housing. It was sold by Frank Brown after the milk processing plant closed in 1979.
60-62 South Main Street, McClenahan - Nesbitt House c. 1880's
This large double house was built by John McClenahan. The northern half he built for his son, John, and the southern half was built for his married daughter, Mrs. Nesbitt. The homes are mirror images of each other. The first floor front room has a frescoed ceiling and a wide curving stairway with a stairwell open all the way up three flights. There is a fireplace in the entrance hall.
64 South Main Street, Adams Hall c. 1905
This building was constructed for use as a gymnasium by the Jacob Tome Institute. It included the first indoor swimming pool in Cecil County, a basketball court, locker rooms and showers. It was a gift to the town from Wiley Manufacturing Company. This stone building has typical Georgian Revival details including the dentiled and modillioned cornice, keystone lintels, and a Palladian window arrangement on the center gable. After interior renovations, completed in 1983, it serves as the municipal offices, library and public meeting room of the town.
Opposite 66 South Main Street, Site of Washington Hall c. 1894
The carved columns, located across the street are all that remain of Washington Hall. The brick and granite school building opened for admission of pupils in 1894. The carvings are a likeness of Institute founder Jacob Tome and his wife, Evalyn Nesbitt Tome.
Next to 66 South Main Street, "The Steps" c. early 1900's
Constructed to climb from Main Street to High Street and then to Tome School for Boys, this dramatic stairway of 75 steps begins with a series of wide ramped brick steps followed by a curving stone series leading to a first landing. They continue to a higher overlook offering a marvelous view of 4 bridges and the Susquehanna River to its mouth. (To avoid an arduous climb, walk up High Street, enjoy the view and descend on the stairs.)
80 South Main Street, Tome Carriage House c. 1850
A Victorian example of Carpenter Gothic, this structure was probably built when the Tome mansion was erected in 1850. It was once the carriage house of Jacob Tome. The street floor, changed only slightly, is now one large room instead of having horse stalls. The upper story is now a home. After Tome died, Will Moore operated a livery stable and taxi business here.
Tome Gas House, c. 1850
Located across the railroad tracks from the carriage house is the Tome Gas House. Very similar in appearance to the carriage house, it was probably constructed during the same period. This stone building also features wide bracketed eaves and a center cupola.
88 South Main Street, Vanneman House c. before 1816
For many years this was the home of John Vanneman who owned the wharf opposite his house and from which lumber vessels sailed. The architecture is Federal in the Pennsylvania Farmhouse style. The variation of the three-bay design, with end chimneys integrated in the exterior walls, brought the staircase forward allowing a full double parlor across the back. There were frame additions to the stone portion in 1850 and 1900. The 1850 section retains its original woodwork. The original kitchen in the basement has a large fireplace. In all there are seven fireplaces in the stone section.
90 South Main Street, McClenahan Mansion c. 1880's
This house really consists of two houses. The clapboard part, a complete two-and-a-half story, hipped roof house with small Greek Revival attic story windows, faced Main Street in the early 19th century, was turned around in the 1880's and placed against the cliff. The McClenahans constructed the new part of Port Deposit granite. This tall Queen Anne style house has three stories and a partial fourth floor, sixteen rooms, eleven-foot ceilings on the first floor, mahogany woodwork and mantel pieces, nine-foot mahogany doors, and oak staircase, crystal chandeliers, stained glass windows, five walk-in closets, marble washbasins and interior shutters which fold into window recesses. Much admired is the Queen Anne chimney with ornate decorative corbeling.
9 Granite Avenue, Burlin Carriage House c. 1860's
This property was built for use as a carriage house for an adjacent property that was destroyed by fire. Visible from the basement level, dug long after the completion of the original structure, is the early foundation which was constructed from barge lumber. It is a post and beam construction. The property was later used as an automobile repair shop and was converted in 1962, to a private residence.
33 Granite Avenue, c. before 1853
A structure at this sight appears on the 1853 Bicentennial map of Cecil County as "The Valley Hotel, J. St. Clair, Proprietor". In 1856, Mr. St. Clair sold both the building and his business, including furniture, beds, pillows, boats, barrels of fish, even a cow and a pig for the sum of $987.00. Research indicates an earlier owner, John J. Steels, who also owned the mill (c. 1700's) and much of the surrounding land. A water race still runs from the old dam up on the hill, through the property, to the mill. The property later became part of the J. R. Coulson quarry which could have been when it was reported to have housed 18 quarry workers. Evidence of other buildings are still visible on the property.
School House Road, Freeman Hall c. 1938
This Port Deposit Elementary School was built as an educational facility for "the colored." At the time of its construction it was thought to be "state of the art, having running water, electricity and heat". The student body was large enough to require three teachers who taught grades 1-7. After W.W.II, the beginning of "High School", grades 8 - 12 were bused to Elkton. The school closed in the early 60's. Now the property of the town, Freeman Hall serves as a meeting place for community seniors and scouts. It is named after a respected Baptist Pastor, Saint Paul Freeman.
33 High Street, White House c. 1840's
Being one of the highest properties in Port, this 1840's house offers a picturesque view of the river. In the 1850 Captain David White was the steamship captain of the newly commissioned ferryboat "Port Deposit", which ran between Havre de Grace and Port Deposit. Sometime in the 1860's he and his family moved to Anne Arundel County and opened a ship chandler business known as D. White & Sons. After the death of the captain, in 1876, his estate was forced to auction to satisfy creditors. In 1880 the McClenahans purchased the house from the estate and it is believed a relative of the White family remained in the house until it was sold to St. James Church in 1912. The church added the stone section to square the house. The property was used as the church rectory until 1951. The property still has many of the original details including floors, moldings and five fireplaces, one of which was used for cooking,
39 High Street, Miller House c. early 1800's
Tradition has it that beams from arks which had been used to float produce from Pennsylvania to "Port" were used in construction of this house. The Misses Alice, Emma and Mary Miller lived here from the late 1930's after their retirements; Miss Alice from being the first supervisor of elementary schools in Cecil County, Miss Emma after service as a Social Worker in Philadelphia Settlement House, and Miss Mary after being secretary to the headmaster of the Tome School for Boys. Miss Alice Miller had written "Cecil County - A Study in Local History". After her death in December of 1947, her sisters "decided to preserve the results of her research by bringing out the edition". It is an excellent history of Cecil County.
Many of the buildings listed on the Walking Tour are private residences, and we request that you do not intrude on the privacy of the owners.
compliments of
The Port Deposit Heritage Corporation
interested more in Port Deposit?? email us today, we will give you a private tour. visit www.pricececilhomes.com
or email us at; thepriceteam@baltoharfordcecilhomes.com
Comments (0)Subscribe to CommentsComment