Historic Oldtown
Jane Frazier returned to her home by way of Oldtown in 1755 after escaping
her Indian captors. The citizenry held a parade in her honor and helped her
reach her home in Wills Creek. Oldtown was the headquarters for the Second
Regiment of the Potomac Home Guard in 1862. Confederates used the ford here
retreating from the North.
This scene of early Oldtown shows a work boat on the C&O Canal and the
Michael Cresap House which at that time sat across from The Pokomoke Rye
saloon. It was here in Oldtown that the C&O Company kept their work crew
boats, grass cutting machines, and their equipment for operating this end
of the "long ditch."
Early Oldtown was a thriving little town. There was originally two saloons,
a grocery store, an ice house, stables for rent, a shoe shop, a hat shop
and a large tannery.
The steeple of St.Francis Catholic church shows in the background. The original
water vessels from St. Francis are displayed in the museum. The Catholic
cemetery and the Methodist cemetery are still side by side on Oldtown Cemetery
Road. In this photo you can also see the foundation of where the original
lock house #70 stood.
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