Not all citizens of Cecil County held a romanticized view of steamboat travel. Some residents of Port Deposit would not be welcomed aboard the Susquehanna, and some residents of Fredericktown would be barred from coming aboard the Emma Giles when it docked in town for the special excursion to Tolchester. The August 20, 1904 issue of the Cecil Democrat bluntly identifies the reason in an article titled, "Prefers a Cell to a 'Jim Crow' Car." The news item accounts the first arrest in Cecil County for violation of the state's 'Jim Crow' law concerning public transportation, passed earlier that year. In this instance the violation was on a train, but the law also applied to steamboats. Because of segregation laws, an African-American family living in Port wanting to take a steamboat excursion, would be required to bypass the ship they see docked in their own hometown and travel to Baltimore to board a separate steamboat headed for a separate beach like Brown's Grove on Rock Creek. For a black family living under the "separate but equal" doctrine of the time, the "separate" was painfully obvious and the "equal" was open to serious debate.


CREDITS:Excerpts:Historical Society of Cecil County


Before the widespread availability of air conditioners and swimming pools, Baltimoreans had a great desire to escape the city's hot and humid summer weather. Steamboats, trolleys, and railroads took people to waterside amusement parks where they could beat the heat. With a straw hat shading your eyes and the smell of sea air in your nose, a steamboat ride on the Chesapeake was an exhilarating experience.

Visitors flocked to Tolchester Beach on Maryland's Eastern Shore from the 1870s to the 1960s. They brought picnics, bathing suits, and money for rides and snacks. Like much of the nation, Tolchester remained segregated until the 1960s.

Brown's Grove, a popular destination for African Americans, enjoyed its heyday in the 1920s. Captain George Brown conducted steamboat excursions and managed the amusement park along with Mr. Walter L. Langley. They advertised proudly that Brown's Grove was "the only park in the State of Maryland run exclusively for Colored People and by Colored People." Attractions included picnic spots, games, and rides like the "Racer Dip," a roller coaster.

CREDITS:Excerpts:Maryland Historical Society


Many Black children also vacationed by travelling on-board steamboats to amusement parks. However, amusement parks were segregated until the 1960's. A destination favored by Blacks in Baltimore was Brown's Grove. Brown's Grove was owned and operated by Black people. Not very much information is known about Brown's Grove because many people focused only on history of white people between the 1880's and the present.


United States - Maryland - Rock Creek

Rock Creek, Maryland (MD), United States

Facts & Statistics

Place Name

Rock Creek

Place Status (Type)

creek

Location

Montgomery County, Maryland (MD), United States, North America

Latitude

unknown

Longitude

unknown

Rock Creek , c.30 mi/48 km long, in Md. and D.C.; rises just S of Laytonsville in Montgomery co., Md.; flows S past Garrett Park, Kensington, and Forest Glen in Md., and through Rock Creek Park and Natl. Zoological Park in Washington to the Potomac in Georgetown.