As the only currently active countywide Caroline historian, I am used to dealing with the past — and when I must — the present. I have researched, written, and published over one hundred articles relating to the history of Caroline County in just the last five years. That volunteer work has led to myriad spots on television, speaking engagements, organizational memberships, paying gigs, impromptu travels, and dozens of new like-minded acquaintances including my wife the prolific Christian historical fiction author.

For once, however, I will be writing about the future. While I do not have a crystal ball, I know enough about the Green Garden County to suggest what is needed and what I hope is received in calendar year 2024. Call them resolutions, call them predictions, call them collectively a wish list, but regardless, here are my January musings:

The Big Five Towns

Denton: Resolve to organize your own municipal historical society. Federalsburg has one. Greensboro has one. Preston has one. Ridgely has one. Each of those towns also boasts of a museum to house its artifacts. Denton owns and operates the Wharves of Choptank Visitor and Heritage Center; that space, or any downtown storefront property, could be utilized as a fulltime historian-staffed tourist destination displaying and interpreting all sorts of town-specific memorabilia — not to mention an attached BBQ joint or annual festival whose name could be a play on Pig Point.

Federalsburg: Resolve to ascertain the exact date and location of the Federalist Party meeting or rally that is said to have been the inspiration for the name of your town. I am pleased that you celebrated the bicentennial of your incorporation in 2023, but I do not want to have to revert to calling you Northwest Fork Bridge again. If the answer is in the research room of the Federalsburg Museum I will find it along with what local sawmills allegedly supplied lumber for the rebuilding of the nation’s capital following the War of 1812, but I am hoping some denizen of that community will beat me to both.

Greensboro: Resolve to figure out once and for all for whom your town is named. Some have speculated the honor goes to Nathanael Greene, a Revolutionary War hero from Rhode Island. There are cities explicitly named for him all over the South, where he served with distinction, but he has no ties here and the timing doesn’t truly match. Others say it was for a certain Valentine Green. Who knows, maybe the area powers that be looked around at the farm fields growing crops and called it a day.

Preston: Resolve to re-open a sit-down restaurant in town. I enjoyed Katie Mae’s tremendously and heard that a deal for a county businessman to purchase it recently fell through. If we can’t have that back, this is where I offer my almost monthly plug for a Buffalo Wild Wings or Cici’s Pizza Buffet. I don’t care if the population is too small to attract one; I want what I want.

Ridgely: Resolve to properly name and service several local roads in your area. There is a stop on the St. Michaels ghost tour walks I docent called Hell’s Crossing. Two hundred-plus years ago, the bars would let out overserved sailors and other revelers at closing time, who would then use the route in question to loudly fight, argue, and stumble their way back to the docks. We have that here — it’s called Hell’s Lane by those who know the Ridgely countryside and for similar reasons. Ninetown Road is the current name of that stretch and it is mislabeled; the sign the county erected as Dean Road when designating 911-compliant addresses in the 1990s was placed on the dirt path where the actual Ninetown village, consisting of you guessed it, nine ramshackle dwellings, originally was. While working on that switch, maybe River Road north of the high school can be fully opened for the first time in a couple decades and Ridgely can also finally get a stoplight at the intersection of Maryland Routes 480 and 312. If Preston, with a smaller population and thus less traffic, was able to secure one at the corner of Maple Avenue and Route 331, Dream City can finally realize the dream that civic leaders have been lobbying the state for since at least 1956.

The Other Five Municipalities

Goldsboro: Resolve to have additional pro wrestling events at the fire hall. You knew I was going to work that topic in somehow. Maybe feuding county politicos could settle some scores in the ring. The booking of that fantasy card may just end up being my April Fools’ column. Eureka!

Henderson: Resolve to give Lloyd Carleton Gooden his due. This upcoming year will mark the 25th anniversary of the death of Ragged Robin, which was his trail name. He completed the Appalachian Trail in 1978, which is a remarkable feat for anyone but even more so when considering Mr. Gooden was pushing 60 years old. Ragged Robin hiked over 45,000 miles in the desert Southwest, Pacific Northwest, New England, and elsewhere as part of his beloved hobby.

Hillsboro: Resolve to acknowledge the presence of Charles Willson Peale in your vicinity. While he only lived there briefly, when the town was known as Tuckahoe Bridge, Peale went on to become a nationally if not internationally-renowned painter including iconic portraits of George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock, Thomas Jefferson, Henry Knox, the Marquis de Lafayette, and Alexander Hamilton among others. Chances are if there is a painting of a Founding Father from the era of the American Revolution, he produced it.

Marydel: Resolve to resuscitate your railroading past. The Delmarva Railroad Heritage Museum shared online several years ago a picture of a blue engine with “CHESAPEAKE” on the side in town for a 1994 Christmas celebration. I dare say it is not there now, and moreover, the train tracks and station have long since been removed, covered up, or repurposed. You also have the celebrated duel between James Gordon Bennett, Jr., and Fred May that made headlines around the country during the burgeoning golden age of yellow journalism to use to your advantage vis-à-vis tourism as well.

Templeville: Resolve to build a temple, perhaps dedicated to Temple family ancestors who settled the area in the mid-1700s. The most famous progeny of that family is likely William Temple, who served Delaware as its governor, as a state legislator, and as Congressman. Not at the same time of course; he was no Huey Long, but then again, who is.
Honorable Mention

American Corner: Resolve to book more country and bluegrass concerts. I still have Clay Walker, Trace Adkins, Jamey Johnson, Clint Black, Steve Wariner, Toby Keith, and Flatt Lonesome on my must-see list.

Two Johns: Resolve to expand by at least one John, maybe more. The original albeit singular namesake who lived nearby on 400 acres during the 1880s and 1890s, sometimes performing for guests visiting his mansion on a floating stage at the banks of the Choptank River, girthy vaudevillian John Stewart Crossy, would be pleased.

West Denton: Resolve to formally delineate East Denton, North Denton, and South Denton on a map. Compete district versus district in the style of The Hunger Games. Will Chadniss Everdean participate? Time will tell, but I do wind up being a “galvanizing symbol of rebellion” on a regular basis. May the odds be ever in your favor.

Resolve to enjoy your semiquincentennial in 2024, Caroline County.