Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1922-01-08
THE RAMBLER CONTINUES HIS STORY OF
PRINCE GEORGES COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE

NH, Is cfurcN- IL ~ on inc TlSnt
side of the road, and at The left there
is another road. well worn but nov
little used, which leads to higher
ground, passes through woods, leads
through lane of ancient cedar trees
and almost loses itself in a grove of
locust and ailanthus trees which cover
the site of the house in which tn,
NARROW family lived. That house, long
before the Marlows went to live in it,
was the Minnix home, and IL may be
that before this was MarIows hill 1t
was called Minnix hill.
The little church by the side of the
road has on its corner stone this ~
scription: Queen Cnapple N. H.
Church. Built 1901" 1t stands on the
site of a frame church which was
burned. and which was the place Of
worship for colored people in that
neighborhood in slavery times" The
Rambler was told this by Israel
Crump, and Sarah, the wife Of Gus
Ross, and when you come to Queen
Chapple," you are at the west end OF
the village of Rossville, village of
simple homes. in which colored people
live. and which stretches along IL.
road for half a mile.
WHEN Muirkirk furnace was the
" chief Industrial plant of south
ern Maryland. il gave employment to
many people. a large majority of them
colorod. a small furnace was in
but in 1853. when the plant WAS
bought by William +. Coffin of Bos-
ton. who was an important iron man
ufscturer in New England. new
plant was set up. 1t was one of the
large blast furnaces OF America. Some
Of the furnace land was bought from
that Mr.. Minnix who lived on the hill
and whose Christian name the Ram
bier has not learned. Some of the
ore land was bought from George
Burrows. whose home was near Saw
age station. Another owner of a large
extent of ore lands was Mark Du-
vail, whose wife was named Mar.
The Duvall homestead is still stand
ing.
ptktIdi SbbuiNlS.pilS vi
were made and lots were bought by
colored people employed at the fur
mace. One of these subdivisions was
4, made on the farm of Mark DuvaIl. and
, the first buyer of lot there was Gus
Ross. Hence the name Of the town.
Rossville. Gus was born slave and
was owned by Benny Beall, who lived
in be nr Prince
county. If the Rambler is reading his
notes straight when he was freed he
came to the iron works of Muirkirk
and worked there during all the years
that the Coffin furnace turned out
cha rcoal pigiron. He is now working
| at the government experiment station
at Beltsville. Gus married Sarah Har-
rison whose father and mother were
Priscilla and Joe Harrison. who We're
| slaves on the old Montpelier plan
! :ation. three or four miles from Ross
vile when Montpelier was owned by
Theodore jenkins.
When freedom came to these peo-
pie they moved near the furnace and
were employed by the Coffin family. I
don't know how long Gus and Sarah
worked for the Collins. but 7 think
it was something like fifty years.
Sarah and Gus had their romance. 1t
ended happily, if it has ended Il: all.
and they are still living in the oldest
house in Rossville. and their desceu.l-
ants and collateral kin are numerous
in Rossviile and the region rouni-
about. There is another colored set
Element about half a mile east at the
junction of the Murkirk and Sp ing
field roads. That part of this village
which is the older, and which. stands
on what was Coffin land. has always
been called Swampoodle. The village
spread across the road to land that
belonged to Miss Ida Tyson. That is
the newer part of the village and the
jewellers there are trying TO shake
or the name "SwampoodIa" and adopt
that of Montpelier" The 1welle-s in
the Senior part of. Swampoodle op-
pose the proposed change and the
jewellers in the newer par. of the viii
lage resent Swampoodle. 1t is a con-
troversy in which the Rambler is
not going to interfere. 1t is sub
ject that is charged with dynamite
and we will probably want to travel
this road again.
The Rambler sat by the fire IN the
Kitchen and dining rooil IF Sarah
HarrfsonR Ross, and We talked of old
| times in that part of the country. But
of that, another time.