Originally published in the Cecil Whig
Where can you find one of the largest selections of dresses, shoes, hats, pants, and shirts in Cecil County? The local clothing store? Wal Mart? The outlets? Nope. The Historical Society of Cecil County! That’s right. The society has been collecting all kinds of clothing and other textiles for decades and it’s jammed into every nook and cranny of both floors of the society’s East Main Street, Elkton headquarters.
Just ask one of our volunteers and he or she can take you to the second floor where, when you open the door to this particular closet, you’ll find hats ranging from a World War II German army helmet to a marching band hat. Elsewhere on the second floor there are stacks of long blue boxes… at least 150 of them! One stack, inside a set of three closets, houses silk wedding gowns, Christening dresses, shawls, overcoats, even flapper dresses, and “dusters.” “Dusters” are long women’s coats from before the Civil War.
What about accessories? Historical Society Board of Trustees President, Paula Newton says we have you covered there too! “We have a thousand of these things in all shapes and sizes. We have gloves and scarves, some of which are from foreign countries. Look, here are a couple of beaded purses.”
In addition, we have shoes, dress hoops, gloves (including baseball!), cuffs, and collars. Remember, back in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, men’s shirt collars and cuffs were separate from the shirt.
Not all textiles are men’s and women’s clothing. No. We have several American flags that date back over 100 years. One, a 45 star flag, goes back to the Spanish-American war in the 1890s. Our collection also boasts quilts, blankets, and even doll clothes. One of our woolen shawls is a detailed paisley print that dates to between 1820 to 1850. Perhaps our most highly treasured textile isn’t valued because of its age, but because it’s native to Cecil County. It is a “turkey red” cotton table cloth. It was made in Elk Mills in the 1860s.
Our most delicate and perhaps most beautiful textile, is a sampler which hangs framed in our museum. It is the work of Mary Ferry “done in the year of 1834.” Its intricate, fragile design shows off the handy work as well as the patience of this young lady nearly 2 centuries ago.
As you can see, the Historical Society is overwhelmed with textiles. So where did they come from? Paula says most came from individual donations. “People don’t want them or individuals are getting older and want to preserve them or they have no family to pass them on to.”
And while we are proud of our collection, Paula says it needs some work. “We have such a large collection that it’s impossible to display it all. It is not catalogued well enough to locate. One must go through all of the boxes. We are in desperate need for volunteers to organize and conserve the collection. We need a textile manager!”
Interested? Don’t delay! Contact the Historical Society of Cecil County through our web site at www.cecilhistory.org Any help will be MOST appreciated! Thank you.