Now, I really need someone who knows something about architecture to answer a question for me: how can a building completed in 1795 (yes, there have been changes and additions over the years, but still) be Colonial Revival? Isn’t that about two months after what one might consider colonial times? OK, fine, I concede that anything built after the ratification of the Constitution probably can’t be considered colonial, but somehow that just seems wrong. I realize it’s because I lump all that into one of the ages of “long-ago.” There’s a colonial “long-ago” that runs in North America from about 1600 to 1800, and it seems any revival of it should occur after those dates. This is, of course, what results when I think with my feelings and instincts and not with, you know, numbers and logic. But all of this is actually the least important bit of discovery. As you know, I don’t tend to research the areas I’m traveling to before I go, so I was a bit surprised to learn that Talbot County was the birthplace of (and please excuse my language for a moment) …
… Mr. Frederick (motherflippin’) Douglass. I would wager his is probably the first (possibly only) name that anyone thinks of when they hear the word “abolitionist.” What can I say about him that hasn’t already been said? You’ve heard me talk about John Brown before. Douglass is one of the only abolitionists I respect as much as I respect Brown. That they knew and liked each other reinforces my respect for both parties.
The cache for the county, as you can probably imagine, ended up being a Douglass-themed one. We had decided on a Virtual, half of which was based on his statue at the courthouse, the other half based around a mural on a nearby park trail. The other group beat us to the courthouse and told us to stop at the mural before we got there. With our information combined, we accomplished our goal!
But while we were at the mural, we found a Douglass-themed Traditional. I hadn’t planned on it being an all-Douglass county, but I wasn’t going to complain about it, either. One day, I’ll make it to Rochester, and the circle will be complete, but until then, I was content with our finds and ready to continue. We had four more Maryland counties on the agenda, all essential to our trip, so we continued forward, stopping in…
Geocaching While Black 