When Pocomoke Was Young- A continuing weekly feature.

 

(Chapter flow:)

ITS ORIGIN AND TOWN LIMITS

TOWN LIMITS

GROWTH, CHANGE OF NAME, ETC.

MERCANTILE ASPECT

MANUFACTURING

TRADES ETC.

SHIPPING INTERESTS

EASTERN SHORE STEAMBOAT CO.

SHIP BUILDING ETC.

HOTELS, LIVERY STABLES, ETC.

PHYSICIANS

LAWYERS

POST OFFICE

PRINTING OFFICES

SOCIAL ASPECT, ETC.

MORAL ASPECT

TEMPERANCE CAUSE

SCHOOLS

CHURCHES

Note:  In duplicating this material for publishing on The Pocomoke Public Eye we have made minor adjustments to correct some of the spelling, punctuation, etc. We believe the errors were not in Rev. Murray's original writing but occurred in the process of formatting the material to a digital format for viewing online.

MERCANTILE ASPECT (CONTINUED). 

During John S. Stevenson's mercantile life, there were 
other stores in the place, namely: William R. Truitt, 
Burroughs & Davis, Maddux & Fields, James Stevenson, 
and probably others. Some of them did quite a heavy 
business. They were all good citizens and their trade 
yielded them a fair income. 

There is only one of this number that I shall give an 
extended account of, and this is James Stevenson, and it is 
because of the novelty of his case. 

He commenced to sell goods at an early date, in New 
Town, prior to this, however, he taught school. 

I have heard it said of him that he commenced mer- 
chandising on a capital of eighty dollars. His store, of 
course, was a small affair, but his trade was sufficient to 
give him a comfortable living. He dealt principally in 
sugar, coffee, molasses, pork, liquor, tobacco and a few of 
the coarser dry goods. He was magistrate during a great 
part of his mercantile life. 

He went by the name of little Jimmie, in consequence 
of his being small of stature. 

He sold goods for thirty years, during all that time he 
never visited the city, but purchased his goods by proxy. 
He died 1861, aged sixty-seven years, and his tomb 
stands in the Presbyterian Cemetery, of Pocomoke City. 

In 1840, Grove & Harris bought out the stock in trade- 
of John S. Stevenson, and pursued the mercantile business, 
until 1844, when they retired. 

In 1844, William J. S. Clarke and William H.T.Clarvoe 
united in co-partnership, in the sale of goods, in New 
Town, under the firm of Clarke & Clarvoe, which firm 
continued successfully for eight years, when by mutual, 
consent they dissolved partnership. 

Mr. Clarke, at slight intervals, has conducted a business, 
on a large scale ever since; part of the time by himself 
and the balance of the time with his son, Edward H.- 
Clarke, and his brother John H. Clarke. 

His business career runs nearly thirty-eight years. 

He built the first steamboat, the first Marine railway, 
and the first three masted schooner on the Eastern Shore. 
He has during his time built from forty to fifty vessels. 
During the last sixteen years he has, in common with his. 
brother, run the steam mill business and Marine railway, 
which have done an average business of $40,000 annually. 
He owns ten thousand acres of land, some of it is (?) iia 
fme estates. 

He also owns thirty houses and lots, and amongst 
them is the well known Clarke House, which is one of the 
first Hotels on the Eastern Shore. He is also one of the 
directors and stockholders of the Eastern Shore Steam- 
boat Company. He has been twice married, his first wife 
was Miss Amanda C. Clarvoe, daughter of the well-known 
Dr. John B. H. W. Clarvoe ; his second wife was Miss Eliza- 
beth A. Hargis, daughter of Thomas M. Hargis. He has 
four children, two by each wife. 

It will be no detriment to Mr. Clarke to say that he was 
a poor boy. He was born the twenty-third day of June, 
1823, in Somerset county, near this place. His mother 
died when he was two weeks old; he was then taken and 
raised by Captain Robert W. Swan, whose wife was a 
relative of his mother. 

Captain Swan, being a New Englander and a sea cap- 
tain was well educated: consequently he was well pre- 
pared to give Mr. Clarke a liberal education, for those days, 
which he did. 

Mr. Clarke began his mercantile life with John S.

 
Stevenson, in the fall of 1838, in the fifteenth year of his 

age. He remained with Mr. Stevenson two years. In 

1840, he went to New Orleans at the age of seventeen 

years, and remained there until 1844, when he returned 

again to New Town and commenced to do business for 

himself as before stated. 

In Mr. Clarke's case, we can see what can be done by 
a man of push, who is determined to succeed, for he had 
nothing to commence on but the wide world in which to 
apply his active mind, and this scrap of his life shows how 
well he has played his part. 

There are two features of his character that are 
worthy of notice: 

The first is, that he is an indomitable worker, always 
full of business and always at business. The second is, an 
ardent desire to promote his friends. 

About 1835, Joseph Fisher engaged in the sale of 
goods in New Town, he occupied the old stand of his- 
father-in law, Stephen Redden, for several years and then, 
moved to the city of Baltimore. 

Between 1844 and 1850, there were several other
stores in New Town, such as: William Townsend, Irving 
Merrill, William T. Hearn, Oliver Jones, J. Francis Hen- 
derson and David H. Long, doing business under the 
firm of Henderson and Long, Quinn and Sturgis, Ashcraft 
and Risley; after a while David Long drew out of the 
firm of Henderson and Long, and Henderson took as a 
partner, George W. Hargis, then James Sturgis as a third 
partner. After continuing sometime Henderson bought 
out Hargis and Sturgis and transacted business by himself; 
after continuing by himself for some time, he took as part- 
ners his brother Henry Henderson and Levin Conner. 

During this partnership J. Francis Henderson died, 
then Henry Henderson and Levin Conner conducted the 
business for two years, when Conner sold out to Hender- 
son, then Henry Henderson transacted business in his own 
name for five years or until 1865, when he closed out. 

All the above named stores were first-class stores, and 
the proprietors were all highly reputable men; they have 
all passed away except Henry Henderson and Levin 
Conner, who are still living in this place, and David H.. 
Long, who lives in the City of Baltimore, and is engaged 
in a very extensive wholesale phosphate house, as general 
agent. 

Mr. Long is something over fifty years of age, of 
high moral character, of tried integrity, and has ever been 
found faithful to all trusts committed to his care, and is 
worthy of any position of trust and responsibility which 
may be placed in his hands. 

CONTINUES NEXT SATURDAY HERE AT THE POCOMOKE PUBLIC EYE.

When Pocomoke Was Young- A continuing weekly feature.

 

(Chapter flow:)

ITS ORIGIN AND TOWN LIMITS

TOWN LIMITS

GROWTH, CHANGE OF NAME, ETC.

MERCANTILE ASPECT

MANUFACTURING

TRADES ETC.

SHIPPING INTERESTS

EASTERN SHORE STEAMBOAT CO.

SHIP BUILDING ETC.

HOTELS, LIVERY STABLES, ETC.

PHYSICIANS

LAWYERS

POST OFFICE

PRINTING OFFICES

SOCIAL ASPECT, ETC.

MORAL ASPECT

TEMPERANCE CAUSE

SCHOOLS

CHURCHES

Note:  In duplicating this material for publishing on The Pocomoke Public Eye we have made minor adjustments to correct some of the spelling, punctuation, etc. We believe the errors were not in Rev. Murray's original writing but occurred in the process of formatting the material to a digital format for viewing online.

MERCANTILE ASPECT (CONTINUED). 

After the death of Edward Stevenson, David Long, 
who was his chief clerk, married his widow, settled his 
estate, and commenced merchandising, in his own name, 
at the same stand where he had been clerking. 

He sold goods until 1832, during which year he died. 
He was buried on his father's farm, at present occupied by 
William W. Quinn. 

Upon his tomb stone is the following inscription: 
"In memory of David Long, who was born the 23rd 
day of November, 1788, and died the 4th day of May, 
1832, Aged forty-three years, five months, and eleven 
days." 

"Ye whose cheek the tear of pity stains, 
Draw near with pious reverence and attend. 
Here lie the loving husband's dear remains, 

The tender father and the generous friend, 
The pitying heart that felt for human woe, 

The dauntless heart that feared no human pride, 
The friend of man, to vice alone a foe; 

For even his failings leaned to virtue's side." 

As David Long was one of the most successful mer- 
chants in the early history of New Town, it is but just to- 
his memory that a brief sketch of his life should here be 
inserted. 

He was born the 23rd day of November, 1778, and 
reared on his father's farm until he entered Edward 
Stevenson's store as clerk. 

How old he was when this change in his life took place 
we are left to conjecture, at all events he must have been 
quite a large boy. 

As it was attended with no little difficulty in getting 
even the rudiments of an education, in those days, it is 
presumable that the advantages which he had in the store, 
in the use of the pen, and figures, was of great service to 
him in developing his latent powers as an accountant. He 
commenced business for himself when he was twenty- 
seven years old, and for sixteen years he applied himself 
closely to business. When he died, in 1832, he had 
amassed, what might be called, an Eastern Shore fortune, 
the probable sum of $40,000. 

He was a man of even temperament, with an amiable 
disposition, polite, obliging, and very winning in his man- 
ners, consequently he was very popular; indeed, he had 
won the respect and confidence of the entire surrounding 
country, and it would have been a futile effort in anyone 
to have sought to divide the patronage that went into his 
store. 

Captain John W. Long commenced the mercantile 
business, in New Town, in 1815. During this year he 
married Miss Sally Laws Henderson, a young lady of 
intellectual culture and high moral worth. 

Captain Long was a brother to David Long and was 
his senior by two years. While yet a youth he chose 
the life of a sailor, and made his first voyage to Amster- 
dam, in a brig built on the dividing creek. He rose, from 
before the mast, to be captain of a ship. 

During the Berlin and Milan decrees, under Napoleon 
Bonaparte, he was taken prisoner and carried to Naples; 
upon his release, he returned home, and, as already 
stated, he commenced merchandising in New Town. 

His store ranked as first-class, though he did not do 
business to the extent that his brother David did. He 
was engaged in the sale of goods nineteen years. He was 
the father of four children, only two of whom are now 
living: Rev. John D. Long and David H. Long, and was 
grandfather of William W. and John L. Quinn. 

Captain Long was an intelligent, unassuming and 
strictly honest man. He was the poor man's friend, a kind 
husband and father, and died honored and loved by all who 
knew him. I have the following from the old family 
Bible, now in the possession of William W. Quinn: 

"Captain John W. Long, was born the 22nd day of 
October, 1786, near New Town, and died the 27th day of 
May, 1834, in the 48th year of his age." 

There were other stores in New Town at the time of 
which I have been speaking, namely: Jacob Riggin and 
John Burnett, doing business under the firm of Riggin 
& Burnett; their store ranked as first-class. 

The others were kept by Samuel Carey, McKimmie 
Lecompte, father of the venerable James Lecompte, of 
Snow Hill; and Nicholas Jones. John Burnett was uncle- 
to William S. Dickinson, Mrs. Sally Blain and Mrs. 
Elizabeth Hughes; and was the best penman in New 
Town, in his day. He finally moved to the City of Balti- 
more, where he died. 

John S. Stevenson succeeded David Long, and com- 
menced the sale of goods in 1833. He sold goods about, 
nine years, when he retired from mercantile life. 

Mr. Stevenson was very popular, indeed, he was the 
leading spirit of the place, in his day, he seemed to seek 
more the public good than his own emolument. 

He was quite a mechanical genius, could construct 
almost any agricultural implement that would make labor 
easier, and in this direction he was much sought after. 
In 1833, he conceived the idea of stretching a rope 
across the river, at Steven's Ferry, by which the propul- 
sion of the ferry boat was conducted with greater ease. 

Before this event, the boat was propelled by oars, which 
mode of crossing, in stormy weather, was attended with 
great danger. 

He had a high sense of moral rectitude, was strictly 
honest in his dealings, was a warm friend, and out-spoken 
and un-compromising in his denunciations of those he 
conceived to be in the wrong. 

In 1854, he went to the state of Missouri, and in 1867 he 
died, in the city of Hannibal, in the 60th year of his age. 

About the year 1833, Colonel William H. Merrill com- 
menced merchandising, in New Town, he was also engaged 
in the shipping business; he had an extensive trade, and 
made considerable money; he sold goods about thirty 
years, and retired from active life. 

Colonel Merrill was a native of Worcester County, 
served an apprenticeship at the hatting business with Jacob 
Rogers, in the city of Baltimore. 

He commenced the hatting business for himself in Snow 
Hill, married Miss Eliza Stevenson, of this place, and 
moved here, where he continued the hatting business until 
the above named period, when he commenced to sell 
goods. 

He was quite a business man, accommodating, obliging, 
polite, and dignified in his manners; was a warm friend 
and quite genial in social bearing. 

He lived to a good old age, and died at home, in the 
midst of his friends, at the age of seventy-two years; his 
remains were deposited in the Protestant Episcopal Church 
Burying Ground, of this place.

CONTINUES NEXT SATURDAY HERE AT THE POCOMOKE PUBLIC EYE.

When Pocomoke Was Young- A continuing weekly feature.

 

(Chapter flow:)

ITS ORIGIN AND TOWN LIMITS

TOWN LIMITS

GROWTH, CHANGE OF NAME, ETC.

MERCANTILE ASPECT

MANUFACTURING

TRADES ETC.

SHIPPING INTERESTS

EASTERN SHORE STEAMBOAT CO.

SHIP BUILDING ETC.

HOTELS, LIVERY STABLES, ETC.

PHYSICIANS

LAWYERS

POST OFFICE

PRINTING OFFICES

SOCIAL ASPECT, ETC.

MORAL ASPECT

TEMPERANCE CAUSE

SCHOOLS

CHURCHES

Note:  In duplicating this material for publishing on The Pocomoke Public Eye we have made minor adjustments to correct some of the spelling, punctuation, etc. We believe the errors were not in Rev. Murray's original writing but occurred in the process of formatting the material to a digital format for viewing online.

MERCANTILE ASPECT. 

In presenting the Mercantile aspect of New Town, 
now Pocomoke City, I shall give with it, a brief sketch of 
the lives of many who have been and are still engaged in 
the sale of goods. 

I have no information of any merchant in New Town 
earlier than 1790 or 1800. 

During that period, there was a Frenchman, by the 
name of Boozee, who settled in New Town, and com- 
menced the sale of goods. 

He lived on the lot which faces on Market, Front and 
Willow Streets; his store was on the corner of Market 
and Front Streets. 

How long he was engaged in the trade I have no 
information; he was a man of some wealth, and when he 
died, Colonel Levin Pollett settled his estate. He had a 
wife and one child, his wife died some time after him; 
they were both buried on the lot where they lived. What 
became of the daughter I have no information. 

In 1803 Michael Murray settled in New Town, and 
commenced the sale of goods; his dwelling and store 
house both were on the lot where William J. S. Clarke now 
lives. He was also engaged in the shipping business. He 
sold goods until 1818 when he retired from mercantile 
life. He accumulated considerable property. For several 
years after he retired from the busy whirl of mercantile 
life, he served as Post-Master for New Town. 

In 1827, he moved to the City of Baltimore, where in 
1831, he died, being at the time of his death sixty-nine 
years of age. 

Somewhere near 1803, Edward Stevenson settled in 
New Town, and commenced merchandising. He lived on 
the lot where Mrs. Mary Merrill now lives. His store- 
house was on the Hargis lot adjoining William Redden's 
House. Afterwards he built the store house, where Town- 
send and Stevenson sell goods, at the corner of Front 
Street and Public Square; here he continued store keep- 
ing until he died, which event took place in 1816. 

Sometime after he came to New Town, he built the 
dwelling house now occupied by his grandson, Jacob- 
Stevenson, and lived in it until his death. He left a widow 
and six children. He also amassed considerable wealth, 
and left each one of his children a handsome property. 
His tomb is in the Methodist Episcopal Church burying 
ground, of this place, with the following inscription upon, 
the marble slab that covers his remains: 

" In memory of Edward Stevenson, who was born,. 
February 14th, 1771, and died the 22nd day of September, 
1816, aged forty-five years, seven months and eight- 
days." 

During the time aforesaid, there were several other- 
stores in New Town, kept by Jesse Henderson, Stephen 
Redden, Joshua Sturgis, and a young man by the name of 
Bounds; but Michael Murray and Edward Stevenson were, 
the leading merchants of their day. 

The articles of merchandise, by the leading stores, were 
the finest dress goods, such as silks, satins, cambrics, Irish: 
linen, broad cloths, cassimeres, together with all other dry- 
goods, hardware, crockeryware, and a general stock of 
groceries and spirituous liquors. 

The other stores dealt in groceries, liquors and the more- 
common dry goods. 

As Jesse Henderson, Stephen Redden and Joshua 
Sturgis were old citizens of New Town, it is but just to 
their memory that the following tribute should here be 
inserted : 

Jesse Henderson was a ship carpenter by trade; when 
he commenced the sale of goods, and how long he was 
engaged in it, I have no knowledge. With him, his wife, 
daughter and grandchildren, I have been most intimately 
acquainted. He was an honest, upright man in his deal- 
ings, very retired in his disposition, and highly respected 
by the entire community. He was great grandfather to 
Edward H. Clarke and Mrs. Mary Quinn. He died in 
1832 or'33, and his remains rest in the old Long Burying 
Ground, on the farm now occupied by William W. Quinn, 
where the most of the Long family, who have deceased, 
are buried. 

His wife, aunt Polly Henderson, for so we used to call 
her, was a most exemplary woman, I knew her well from 
my infancy to the time of her death. 

While I am giving some account of her husband, I feel 
it due to her name to say that she was my ideal of a model 
wife. She was a keeper-at-home, no gadder-about, no 
tattler, no busy-body in other people's business. I never 
heard her speak an unkind word of anyone; always had a 
pleasant word and pleasant face. 

She died in a good old age, and was buried in the 
Methodist Episcopal Church Burying ground, of this 
place. 

Stephen Redden sold goods, in New Town, for many 
years, and, although his stock in trade was not so exten- 
sive as the heaviest merchants, yet his business yielded 
him a comfortable support. He raised an intelligent 
family of children, one of which was considered to be the 
smartest young man in New Town, in his day; I allude to 
his son, George S. Redden, whose history will be given 
under another heading. 

Stephen Redden was a good citizen, peaceable, inoffen- 
sive, and full of fun; he was somewhat beyond middle life 
when he died. He was buried in the Methodist Episcopal 
Church burying ground, in New Town. 

Joshua Sturgis was one of the best of men, and his wife 
was equally as good as he was. They were the salt of the 
earth in all that was good and great; great in the sense of 
natural and mental gifts, for they raised a family of boys, 
whose talents for mathematics have never been excelled 
by any boys raised in New Town. They both passed 
away, at a good old age, as ripe shocks of corn ready for 
the garner.

CONTINUES NEXT SATURDAY HERE AT THE POCOMOKE PUBLIC EYE.

When Pocomoke Was Young- A continuing weekly feature.

 

(Chapter flow:)

ITS ORIGIN AND TOWN LIMITS

TOWN LIMITS

GROWTH, CHANGE OF NAME, ETC.

MERCANTILE ASPECT

MANUFACTURING

TRADES ETC.

SHIPPING INTERESTS

EASTERN SHORE STEAMBOAT CO.

SHIP BUILDING ETC.

HOTELS, LIVERY STABLES, ETC.

PHYSICIANS

LAWYERS

POST OFFICE

PRINTING OFFICES

SOCIAL ASPECT, ETC.

MORAL ASPECT

TEMPERANCE CAUSE

SCHOOLS

CHURCHES

Note:  In duplicating this material for publishing on The Pocomoke Public Eye we have made minor adjustments to correct some of the spelling, punctuation, etc. We believe the errors were not in Rev. Murray's original writing but occurred in the process of formatting the material to a digital format for viewing online.

TOWN LIMITS. 

We will now proceed to consider the geographical 
position or town limits of the place. 

There were no incorporate lines encircling it then as we 
have now, so that I shall have to prescribe them for the 
town as it existed as late as 1820. As the Hill or Public 
Square was the center of the town, the reader will start 
with me from this place, and go out Front Street as far as 
the Bridge Causeway, or Colonel Merrill's property, thence 
take a straight course to the corner of Market and Second 
Streets, thence out Second to Willow Street, thence down 
Willow to the junction of Willow and Front Streets, thence 
on Front to the Hill or Public Square. 

These limits may be safely considered as the boundary 
lines of New Town as late as the above date. In order to 
have a more perfect view of the place, at this date, we will 
begin with a description of its County Wharf, Public 
Square, Streets and Houses. The County Wharf lies 
directly between Messrs. Clark, and Smullen & Brother's 
granaries, and is twenty-eight feet long. I have tried to 
find the date when this wharf was built, by having the 
record of Worcester and Somerset counties both searched, 
but have failed; the presumption is, however, that it's 
date reaches back to 1700, which is the date of the build- 
ing of the Tobacco Warehouse. The reader may now 
stand upon this wharf and contemplate the fact, that sixty 
years ago there was naught on either side of it, but bramble, 
tuckahoes and mud flats. It is true there was a shoal or 
canoe landing at the foot of Willow Street, more in the 
direction of Fontain's ice house, where we used to fasten 
our canoes, and also a landing at the old Shipyard: the 
same place that is used as a shipyard by James T. Young. 

The Public Square or Hill, as we used to call it, was 
sixty years ago, a hill of some prominence, but time has 
leveled it. It was then, as now, entirely surrounded by 
houses, though of a different character, while now they 
are all business houses ; then they were all family resi- 
dences, with one or two exceptions, Consequently the hill 
was the center of the town for business and social life. 

Here the men and boys would meet in the evenings and 
have their sports, plays and social pastimes; here, too, the 
merchants would pile their lumber, consisting of planks, 
laths, etc. Here, on this hill, I have witnessed many a 
hard fight, and many funny scenes. 

There were four principal streets, which were called 
roads, namely: Market Street, which was called Virginia 
road; Second Street, which was called Cedar Hall Road; 
Front Street, winding round into Linden Street and 
onward, was called the Snow Hill Road; and lastly, the 
old Ferry Road, which had its convergence in the Snow 
Hill Road, leading to the Hill or Public Square. There 
were two or three other streets, which were of minor 
importance, only one of which might be recognized as a 
public thorough-fare, and that was Willow Street. 

Within the limits of the town, there. were twenty-eight 
dwelling houses and seven or eight business houses com- 
prising stores and mechanical shops. Outside of those 
limits, there were five houses, occupied by families, which 
might be considered suburban residences. 

The old Methodist Episcopal Church that stood on the 
site of the present one, which now is in the heart of the 
town, was then in the suburbs, in full conformity with the 
old custom to put the Church out of town. 

The houses were mostly one story high, they were 
built out of good material, and in workmanlike order, for 
those days. Some were finished inside with beautiful 
Danel (?) work, others again were lathed and plastered, while 
many were never finished at all. 

In order to ascertain the population of the town, we 
may calculate five to a family, the probabilities of which 
the reader can determine, as well as myself, we have then 
'within its limits one hundred and forty-persons; if we 
include the five suburban families, on the same basis, we 
"have twenty-five more, making the aggregate one hundred 
and sixty-five persons living in New Town and its precincts 
as late as 1820. I have thus given a description of New 
Town, of its County Wharf, Public Square, Houses, 
Streets, and Town Limits, up to 1820, and shall close this 
part of the history by saying that the old Tobacco Ware- 
house, which had served its day during Colonial times, 
was, after the independence of the Colonies and the 
establishment of the currency of the Republic in dollars 
-and cents, left to decay, and having stood until about 1819 
was finally torn down. 

GROWTH, CHANGE OF NAME, ETC, 

Of the enlargement and general improvement of the 
town, from 1820 to the present time, (1882.) 

For the first two decades there was no advancement of 
any extent in this direction. 

From 1840 to i860, enterprise seemed to lay its hand 
upon New Town and claim it for its subject. New build- 
ings were erected, of modern taste, comprising store 
houses, dwelling houses, churches and an academy; some 
of them reaching out into the suburbs. For all the- 
country from the corner of Market and Second Streets, all 
around, was unoccupied save a few dwellings which were- 
scattering. 

Where the Protestant Episcopal and Methodist Pro- 
testant Churches now stand, together with all other - 
houses on the eastern side of Market Street, was a farm, 
and the old homestead was where Captain Isaac N. Veasey 
now lives. All the country on the south-west side of 
Market Street, save a few unimportant small dwellings,, 
was cultivated lots and woods. All the land from Littleton 
Duer's corner, the south-eastern side of Second Street, 
running to Cedar street, embracing the high school and 
beyond, was a field in which I have worked many a day, 
when a little boy. "hoeing corn." 

"In 1865, an act of incorporation was secured, and in it' 
full power and authority was given the Town Commis- 
sioners to widen and straighten old streets, and to lay out 
and construct new ones, and to perform such other acts 
as, in their judgment, might be required to secure the 
health, happiness and prosperity of the town." 

"At the first election held under this charter, the people 
chose C. C. Lloyd, W. S. C. Polk, Charles Marshall, 
Joseph Riley and W. J. Long, for Town Commissioners, 
all good and active men, who soon showed, by their acts, 
that they were intent on improvements." 

" They appointed a commission composed of Edward. 
S. Young, Dr. John L. Hearn, and William S. Dickinson, 
to make a survey of the town, and to straighten and widen 
the old streets and lay out several new ones. They per- 
formed their duty promptly and well, and soon the town 
began to assume something like proportion and regularity. 
No one, unacquainted with New Town at that period, 
can imagine the vast changes and improvements made by 
these acts." 

The above quotations I have taken from Dr. John T. B. 
McMaster's Centennial Address, delivered before the 
people of Pocomoke City, on the 4th of July, 1876. 
The reader will learn that the above commission 
extended the limits of New Town about three-fourths of a 
mile, in every direction, from the Public Square, save from 
its north-western course, as in that direction it is bounded 
by the Pocomoke river, upon whose southern side the 
town lies. 

From 1865 down to the present day, progress, unprece- 
dented by the past, has marked its course, so that now we 
have in New Town, or Pocomoke City, well laid out- 
streets, some of which are macadamized and contribute, 
in no little degree, to the enjoyment of an evening drive. 

There are within the limits of the corporation about two- 
hundred and twenty-five houses, comprising dwellings, 
store houses, mechanical shops, steam mills, churches, the- 
Clark house and high-school building, both of which are 
ornaments to the place. Indeed, the high-school building 
is of such a character as to call forth, in terms of praise,, 
the declaration from the Superintendent of Public Schools 
of Maryland, in an address, delivered before the citizens 
of New Town, that "it was the finest school building on 
the Eastern Shore of Maryland." 

The dwelling houses are of modern style, and are, with 
few exceptions, fine buildings, indeed, some of them are 
of a palatial character, while the churches, seven in num- 
ber, are all good buildings, and amply accommodate, with 
seats, the church going people of Pocomoke City. 

Before closing our history of New Town, in its buildings 
and general improvements, from its earliest history to the 
present, we are compelled to record the fact, that its old 
name is no more, it has passed away, together with its 
former inhabitants, and they all lie in the grave together. 

The reader will be informed that the citizens of the 
place, by an almost unanimous request, petitioned the 
Legislature of Maryland for a new name, setting forth in 
that petition their desire that it should be called Pocomoke 
City, and by an action of the General Assembly of Mary- 
land, held in 1878, it was so named. 

The credit of this change is due chiefly to the Rev. T. 
O. Ayres, who was the prime mover in the whole affair. 

Now we take rank with other names of modern date 
and with modern advancement, with a population of 
1500 inhabitants. 

CONTINUES NEXT SATURDAY HERE AT THE POCOMOKE PUBLIC EYE.

When Pocomoke Was Young- A continuing weekly feature.

 

(Chapter flow:)

ITS ORIGIN AND TOWN LIMITS

TOWN LIMITS

GROWTH, CHANGE OF NAME, ETC.

MERCANTILE ASPECT

MANUFACTURING

TRADES ETC.

SHIPPING INTERESTS

EASTERN SHORE STEAMBOAT CO.

SHIP BUILDING ETC.

HOTELS, LIVERY STABLES, ETC.

PHYSICIANS

LAWYERS

POST OFFICE

PRINTING OFFICES

SOCIAL ASPECT, ETC.

MORAL ASPECT

TEMPERANCE CAUSE

SCHOOLS

CHURCHES

Note:  In duplicating this material for publishing on The Pocomoke Public Eye we have made minor adjustments to correct some of the spelling, punctuation, etc. We believe the errors were not in Rev. Murray's original writing but occurred in the process of formatting the material to a digital format for viewing online.

In writing a history of New Town, I have been no little

perplexed in gathering up evidence in regard to its origin. 
There is, however, one item of historical fact which gives 
some clue to it, namely: A certain Col William Stevens, 
who was, probably, staff officer to Lord Baltimore, estab- 
lished in 1670 what has since been called, for many years, 
Stevens'Ferry. 

A scrap of Col. Stevens' history may not be out of place 
here. He had a grant from Lord Baltimore to take up all 
the lands from the mouth of the Pocomoke River to Lewis- 
town, Delaware, and settle the same, which he did, with 
a colony of Welsh, Irish and English. He was one of 
Lord Baltimore's counsellors, was Judge of Somerset Court 
for twenty-two years, and departed this life the 23d day 
of December, in 1687, in the fifty -seventh year of his age. 
The reader will remember that, originally, Somerset 
County embraced all of Worcester County too. and the 
Court House stood on the rise of ground, on Edwin 
Townsend's farm, in Somerset County, at the junction of 
Cokes Bury and Snow Hill roads, leading to Dividing 
Creek Bridge. Indeed, the farm, from our earliest recol- 
lection, until recently, has been called Court House Farm, 
but now the name is becoming obsolete. 

Steven's Ferry reached from the Somerset side of Poco- 

moke River, adjoining the Phosphate Factory of Freeman, 

Lloyd, Mason and Dryden, to the foot of the Pocomoke 

Bridge, on the Worcester side. 

This Ferry was the center of business for this whole sec- 
tion of the country. 

The country on both sides of the river was, with some 

exceptions, a dense wilderness. 

The historical fact of Stevens' Ferry being erected in 

1670 will serve as a nucleus with which to associate the 

history of New Town. 

All other evidence, which I have been able to obtain 

relative to the origin of the place is traditional. 

Tradition says : About the time or shortly after the 

erection of Stevens' Ferry a New England trader came up 

the Pocomoke River in his vessel, ladened with New 

England Rum and Cheese, and sought a landing at the 

Ferry, to sell his cargo, but the authorities drove him off, 

and he dropped his vessel down the river to the next knoll 

-on the Worcester side, which we used to call the Hill, but 

is now called the Public Square. 

Here he pitched his tent and traded with the sparse 

inhabitants, as they would come with their produce to 

trade for Rum and Cheese. 

The reader must conclude, of course, that the plank 

'lent which he put up was the only house, or substitute for 

a house, in the neighborhood ; all around him were forest 

trees, between him and the river were mud flats and 

tuckahoes. 

Tradition goes on further to say: That about the year 
16S3 or '54 the place was then called Meeting House Land- 
ing, in view of the saying that a Presbyterian House of. 
Worship was erected on the lot which was called, when I 
was a boy, the Sacher Lot, a nick name for Zachariah, as. 
the lot then belonged to one Zachariah Lambertson, but: 
now belonging to William J. S. Clarke, known of late: 
years as the Adreon Lot, at the foot of Willow St. 

"History states that about the year 1680, a petition was 
gotten up by Colonel William Stevens and others, and 
sent to the Presbytery of Laggan, Ireland, for a Minister- 
to come and settle in this part of the Colony to preach the- 
Gospel and look after the interests of the Presbyterian 
Church in these western wilds." 

" In 1682 the Rev. Francis Makemie, was sent to the- 
Colony, a man of celebrity, under whose supervision and: 
oversight, tradition says, this house was built. 

About the year 1700, the Tobacco Warehouse was built.. 

Tobacco having been made a legal tender by the House- 
of Burgesses, and a fixed price per pound established, for 
all debts, public and private, the warehouse became the 
place of deposit for the circulating medium. 

At this juncture of time, the name of the place was 
changed from Meeting House Landing to Warehouse 
Landing, or both may alternately have been used. Why 
the change was made, whether the log Church had been, 
abandoned or not, is all left to conjecture. 

I remember, well, the old Tobacco Warehouse, it stood 
about 120 years, and when it was torn down there was 
good material in it, and though I was but a child, yet I had 
many a romp and play in it, with my little associates, in 
hide-and-go-seek. It's large tobacco hogsheads, and 
and scales, and weights are still fresh in my memory. It 
stood on the hill, between the pump and the south-west 
corner of Smullen & Bro's. Store. 

From 1700 to the days of the Revolution, there is no 
evidence that I have been able to obtain, either historical 
or traditional, in regard to New Town. 

There are some few facts, however, which are within the 
writer's own knowledge, which may serve as reminiscences 
of that period, and fill up in some little degree the place 
of the lost history. I allude to some few old houses, 
which were probably coeval with the Old Tobacco Ware- 
house, one or two of which stood on the ground, now 
occupied by Smullen & Brother's Storehouse, one adjoining 
the ground now occupied by Twilly & Brother's Livery 
Stables, inhabited by an old lady by the name of Elizabeth 
Matthews. There were three or four more, only one of 
which I shall call the reader's attention to, which was a 
small red house, and stood on the south-west corner of 
Market and Second Streets. In this house a Revo- 
lutionary Soldier lived by the name of Daniel Spaulding. 

These houses served as landmarks, pointing to the 
period from 1700 to 1776, and show conclusively that they 
were once occupied by those who have long since passed 
away, and, so far as we have been able to ascertain, have 
left no tidings behind them. 

The reader is already aware that this place was called 
Warehouse Landing, and that name continued until 1780 
or thereabouts, when it was changed to New Town. There 
is no record of the fact, why, or by whom the change was 
made. I remember about forty years ago, of having an 
interview with a man by the name of Reville, who said 
that he gave to this place the name of New Town. Be 
that as it may, there are some reflections presumptive of 
the fact. He was at the time of the interview eighty or 
ninety years old, so that at the time the place was named, he 
was twenty or twenty-five years old, admitting the fact 
that he was not a conspicuous man in the community, and 
that such changes generally take place by men of distinc- 
tion, yet it will be remembered that the inhabitants of the 
place were very few, and the surrounding country sparsely 
settled, so that there is a possibility that his statement is 
true, though I leave the reader to form his own con- 
clusions, 

CONTINUES NEXT SATURDAY HERE AT THE POCOMOKE PUBLIC EYE.

The Worcester House history?

From a Pocomoke Public Eye reader:

"Not a comment or an opinion but a question that some long time resident of Pocomoke may know. Just over the MD line in VA not far down from the Royal Farms (same side of the highway) is an antique store. I think it is called  the Worcester House. It is a long, low building. On one end is a large walk in fireplace. Does anyone know when this building was built and what was its original purpose?"