The doors live!

There's a lot of interesting doors around here, but with the limited amount of blog space available, it's often hard to show them off. So today I'm making up for it with a few of my favorites.

Canon 5D ©Falmanac

The Pumps

The C&D Canal Museum is located in the canal's old pump house. Early on the canal was a bit leaky and required constant replenishment of the locks at Chesapeake City. After all, what's a canal without water? That's right, it's a trench. The pumps were steam powered and quite large, as well as ornate. They remain intact and on display. The pumps are too large and cramped to show them whole, but I can show you pieces.

Canon 5D ©Falmanac

More boat watching

We capped off a very maritime month with an afternoon's boat watching along the C&D Canal at the museum in Chesapeake City, Maryland (Cecil County). The museum grounds offer a nice view of the canal, with outside benches, shade trees, and inside the museum - real time canal traffic info. More on the museum itself next time.

Canon 5D ©Falmanac

A little coal trivia

Coal companies used to fix their brands to bulk slabs of coal. This lump resides in the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal Museum in Chesapeake City, Maryland.


Canon 5D ©2006 Falmanac

Swan Harbor Farm

Swan Harbor Farm was established in 1790 and is now part of the Harford County Parks and Recreation system. It sits on several hundred acres of land and offers a great view of the Chesapeake Bay. It is open to the public and can also be rented for weddings and the such.

Suburban shipping

Harford Countians interested in taking in some maritime scenery can skip Baltimore and head straight to Havre de Grace, where they can watch the tug boats moving barges in & out of the mouth of the Susquehanna. There isn't a lot of industrial variety to be had, but there's plenty of pleasure boats to watch too. The grounds of the lock house museum are a good starting point.

Who's that guy?

Why it's Orpheus, strumming his lyre. The statue was commissioned in 1914 to mark the centennial of Key's writing the "Star Spangled Banner." The statue used to stand in front of Fort McHenry, but was exiled to the fort's backyard in 1962. The statue was sculpted by Charles H. Niehaus.

Canon 5D ©2006 Falmanac

Rukert Terminals Corporation

The Port of Baltimore is dominated by the big terminals of the Maryland Port Authority, but there are several private outfits as well. The best known and the easiest to observe (from the grounds of Fort McHenry), is Rukert. The Rukert Terminals, located in Canton, Maryland, handle bulk, break-bulk, containers, and other cargo. They unload most of the salt that goes on the area's roadways when it snows. They also have their own lighthouse (you can see it in the second picture), a replica of one built on that very location in the 1830's.

A walk around Fort McHenry

Fort McHenry is a pretty big and interesting place, so interesting that people often don't have time to walk around outside the fort. Which is too bad because the grounds are half the fun. The fort sits at the end of Locust Point and offers a great view of a large chunk of Baltimore's harbor. If you are standing on the end of Locust Point, with the fort at your back, you'll be able to see Canton on your left, Curtis Bay on your right, and way off in front of you, the Key Bridge and Fort Carroll. A paved trail circles the grounds and the admission is free, though there is a nominal fee to enter the fort proper.

Country Churches: St James

Saint James, in Monkton, Maryland, was established in the 1750's and used as an arsenal during the American Revolution.

Canon 20D ©2006 Kim Choate

Old House #11

Monkton, Maryland (Baltimore County)
Canon 20D ©2006 Kim Choate

Sailing past the windows

Havre de Grace, Maryland

©falmanac 2006

Country Churches: St Mary's GC

Saint Mary's G.C. church began life some hundred or so years ago as Saint Mark's in Fallston, MD. Saint Mark's built a new parish about 20 years ago and the old building moved up the road a few miles to Joppa. It's a fine old chapel and we are glad it was saved.