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Poplar Grove Field Trip

April 16, 2008

On a recent spring afternoon, students in the course "Chestertown's America" (American Studies 300/Anthropology 394) traveled to Poplar Grove, a farm along the Chester River in Queen Anne's County that has been in the same family for more than 300 years.

In "Chestertown's America," students trace more than 400 years of American history—including the Revolution, slavery, the Civil War, and the Civil Rights era - from the vantage point of Chestertown and its surrounding area of the Upper Eastern Shore. Students conduct their own independent research using old newspapers, courthouse records, letters, and oral-history interviews, as well as exploring historic houses, farms, and other places where traces of the past still linger.

Click to enlarge photos.

The façade of the main house at Poplar Grove, dating back to before the American Revolution, combines Georgian and Victorian architectural features.
The façade of the main house at Poplar Grove, dating back to before the American Revolution, combines Georgian and Victorian architectural features.
Students Aundra Weissert and Katie Coursey listen to stories of the Emory family, the original occupants of the house.
Students Aundra Weissert and Katie Coursey listen to stories of the Emory family, the original occupants of the house.
Class members and instructor Adam Goodheart are welcomed by James Wood, a direct descendant of the Emorys and 10th-generation owner of the property.
Class members and instructor Adam Goodheart are welcomed by James Wood, a direct descendant of the Emorys and 10th-generation owner of the property.
Students James Schelberg '11, Stephanie Olsen '11, Elaine LaCoss '10 and Adam Goodheart view old family documents that Wood has brought.
Students James Schelberg '11, Stephanie Olsen '11, Elaine LaCoss '10 and Adam Goodheart view old family documents that Wood has brought.
Weissert and Coursey.
Weissert and Coursey.
The class sets off to explore the 250-acre farm's grounds and outbuildings, some of them over 200 years old.
The class sets off to explore the 250-acre farm's grounds and outbuildings, some of them over 200 years old.
Carol Funck '09 emerges from one of the outbuildings.
Carol Funck '09 emerges from one of the outbuildings.
This building at Poplar Grove was one of the last surviving slave cabins on the Upper Eastern Shore, and is documented as having existed prior to 1798. It recently fell victim to time and summer storms.
This building at Poplar Grove was one of the last surviving slave cabins on the Upper Eastern Shore, and is documented as having existed prior to 1798. It recently fell victim to time and summer storms.
A corn crib, dating to the early 20th century, was used to dry the crop during the winter to prepare it as fodder for animals.
A corn crib, dating to the early 20th century, was used to dry the crop during the winter to prepare it as fodder for animals.
The corn crib at Poplar Grove.
The corn crib at Poplar Grove.
Class members on the bank of Emory Creek, where schooners from Baltimore once picked up crops for market, and generations of family members set out for sailing races on the river.
Class members on the bank of Emory Creek, where schooners from Baltimore once picked up crops for market, and generations of family members set out for sailing races on the river.
Class members by the old barn. Left to right: Coursey, Weissert, Goodheart, Danielle Bennett '11, Olsen, Schelberg, LaCoss, Funck, Sarah Garretson '10.
Class members by the old barn. Left to right: Coursey, Weissert, Goodheart, Danielle Bennett '11, Olsen, Schelberg, LaCoss, Funck, Sarah Garretson '10.

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