Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1910-08-26
THE CITY OF ANNAPOLIS.
Points of Interest About Quaint Old
Maryland Capital.

were this its only reason for existence.
it would still occupy big place in the
affairs Of this country and the world.
Annapolis has been the capital of
Maryland since 1894, nearly half
century after its first settlement and
away back at its beginning was noted
for it's fashionable and handsome wo
men and during the years preceding
the Revolution reached the height of
its glory. The streets of the city are
narrow and run in circles and angles,
just as are to be found in the old
er sections of other cities of the coun-
try. Most of the houses are of colo
NAL construction, many of them be-
ing frame structures and having the
appearance of having had more than
one century pass over them.
The state house was built in 1924,
that is it was begun then. There have
been several additions to it and it was
not until 1905 that it was completed
as ii now stands. 1t is built of granite
and brick and the inside is finished in
white marble. The halls for the sem
ate and house of delegates are quite
small and both together would hardly
seat the 124 members of South Carroll
mas house of representatives. There
are i'm the building many fine old paint
ings depicting the history of the state
at the time of the Revolution, in which
George Washington Is always the
prominent figure. There are also nu
merous life sized portraits of men who
have been prominent in the civil and
military life of the state. An interest
ing feature of the capitol Is the mu-
scum Of the state geological depart
ment. Here are shown products of the
states mines and quarries. Among
other things are shown various speci-
mems of coal, marble. granite, slate,
tile and brick clay, sands for various
purposes, and the manufactured pro-
ducts from these materials. Another
interesting exhibit in this room is a
series of six glass cases, each about
90 feet long by Is inches square, in
which are shown samples Of the road
construction as practiced In Maryland
in the past and at present. From
some of the specimens 1t is easy to
suppose that in future years Maryland
will have some fine highways.
Across the street from the capitol is
the governors mansion. This is a
large brick, granite trimmed building
and is occupied by Governor Crowther
when he Is in Annapolis, but this is not
all of the time. The chief executive
of Maryland is a bachelor and his i'm
mediate family cares are not very
heavy. Just to the west Of the capitol
building is a large statue of Baron
deKalb, who lost his life in the battle
of Camden, S. c., August 16, 1880.
Everywhere one turns in Annapolis
there is some spot or building con-
nected with the early history of the
country, more especially of the Revo-
lutionary period. Friday night l had
the pleasure of attending a meet
ing of Annapolis Masonic lodge.
The lodge room is on the third floor Of
very old brick building and is the
room occupied by George Washington
as a bedroom during one of his stays
in Annapolis when this city was the
capital of the United States. Aside
from being the capital Of the state
and a very interesting city because of
it's past history, Annapolis Is especially
important as the seat of the United
States naval academy. Few people
who read of the Annapolis naval acad-
emy in the newspapers have any con-
ception OF the bigness of Uncle Sans
naval school, where the raw material
is taken and whipped into shape to
make future admirals of our navy.
The Annapolis naval academy was
the historian, then secretary of the
navy, was perhaps more responsible
for it's establishment than any one else.
The academy grounds occupy about
eighty acres, and around one side Is
the Severn river. The land side is cut
off from the outside by a high brick
wall, which is pierced by convenient
gates. The grounds and buildings are
always open to visitors during the day,
Sundays and holidays excepted. and
there is always something OF interest
to be seen.
The grounds are laid off with paved
walks and drives. There are a score
or more buildings, used for various
purposes, such as officers quarters, in
struction halls, armory, administra-
ton buildings, superintendent quar-
ters, gymnasium, seamanship building,
etc. The chapel is perhaps the most
striking building on the grounds as
viewed from the outside, its gilded
dome reaching to a heigth Of 2l0 feet.
This building cost 100000 and was
only completed two years ago. Scat
tered all over the grounds and at the
entrances of the navy buildings are
relics of the wars in which the United
States has had part. There are
quite a number of guns that saw SER
vice in the civil war and there are
scores of guns, torpedOes, ETC., that
were captured from the Spaniards at
Manila and in Cuban waters during
the little scrap with Spain. There are
at present only about 225 cadets here.
These are the fourth class men. just
beginning their naval careers. All of
the others. some 500 or 600 are away
on ships for sea training.
Just at present none of the large
battlcships are in the harbOr. Tied
up at one of the docks and used as
quarters for bluejackets, is the Hart
ford, which played an important part
i'm the battle Of Mobile Bay, during the
civil war under command of Farragut.
This vessel is not just as she was at
that time, as an extra deck has been
added so as to give more room. This
vessel is also used for instruction for
midshipmen. The Hartford was
launched in 1858 and was rebuilt and
moderniZed in 1899. Across the dock
is the Santee launched in 1866, but
never in active service. and Is now used
as a receiving ship for naval recruits.
Out in the river opposite the Hartford,
is the Olympia, Admiral Dewey's
flagship at Manila Bay. Her days OF
fighting and cruising are gone. She
is classed as obsolete and her future
usefulness will be confined to use as
a school of instruction.
Tied up along side the wharf, only
a few steps from the Santee are the
Tarantula ami the Viper submarines.
They are wicked looking little things,
very small and carry crews of only
twelve men. | haven't had an oppor-
tunity to get aboard one oI these. but
think | will get it this afternoon. No,
| don't want to go down under the
water. | only want to see the inside
works of the little vessels
The naval academy is very much
larger institution than it is generally
to he, and it is conceded that
after a young man enters the academy
and manages. by the necessary hard
work, to get through the full four
wears course of study, he has very
nearly as much education as 1t Is
possible for him to get at any single
institution of learning anywhere IN
the world He is mentally and physi-
cally equipped for his hattie with life.
Physical perfection is as necessary at
Annauolis as is the mental equipment
and the cadet must have both before
he can ever hope to get through.
A. NJ. Grist.