Originally published in the Cecil Whig
On a rainy Sunday in May of 1972, the Historical Society of Cecil County dedicated a log cabin that was moved to land behind the Society building on East Main Street. With its two red doors, red shuttered windows, gray oak log walls, and brick chimney, the log cabin now boasts a garden, thanks to the Cecil County Arts Council. At Christmas time, a lonely candle flickers its battery powered electric light through the lone upstairs window of the centuries old cabin. It’s a lovely sight. Lovely, not only because the cabin is esthetically pleasing, but because it contains so very much history.
First, this structure did not begin its life in the Society’s backyard. It was originally located on Beau (now Bow) Street across from today’s Union Hospital. It was moved to the Society grounds in 1970 when Bow Street was widened and the hospital expanded. According to Historical Society records, while the date of the cabin’s construction remains elusive, we know a little bit about who lived there and for what purpose it was used. For example, County Court House records show the original land upon which the cabin rested was part of the so called “Friendship” tract owned by Robert Alexander in the 18th century before he ran off with the British in 1777, never to return to Elkton. It passed to William Alexander who sold the cabin and the land around it to the Rev. William Duke in 1820. This is where the cabin’s history comes alive!
According to a variety of Cecil Whig newspaper articles and documents on file with the Historical Society of Cecil County, Rev. Duke was a Methodist preacher who traveled greatly across the eastern and western shores of Maryland, serving various churches and teaching at a variety of different church sponsored schools. Sometime before 1792, Rev. Duke left the Methodist Church and became an Episcopal Priest, serving as rector at St. Mary Anne’s Church in North East until 1806. He opened a school for boys and conducted the first Episcopal worship services in Elkton around 1799, presumably in the log cabin, although he did not yet own the structure. He left St. Mary Anne’s in 1806, returning to Elkton and a teaching position at the Elkton Academy where he was appointed principal in 1818.
Rev. Duke died on May 31st, 1840 and is buried, along with his wife and daughter, on the north side of the cemetery at St. Mary Anne’s Episcopal Church in North East.
As for the log cabin itself, while its origins remain unknown, the Historical Society recently began a deeds search to determine just who owned the land and built the structure on Bow Street and when. We will, of course, share that information when it becomes available. Until then, suffice it to say that the cabin consists of two rooms upstairs and two downstairs all four of which have whitewashed walls. A narrow stairway joins the up and downstairs rooms. A hallway connects the two upstairs rooms, one of which includes a small fireplace. Another fireplace graces one of the downstairs rooms and two outside doors service the downstairs.
The Maryland Historical Society retains a microfilm copy of Rev. Duke’s personal journal which he kept between 1774 and 1825. Documents to, from, and about Rev. Duke related to his work as an Episcopal Priest are with the Maryland Episcopal Diocesan office. The Historical Society of Cecil County plans to continue researching Rev. Duke and his log cabin and present an historical interpretation of same in late 2015.