Do you know where Golts, Maryland is? Today’s undated Flashback Photo of the Golts post office shines a light on this unincorporated community right here in Kent County, almost in Delaware. If you have any stories, photos, or information to share about life in Golts, please email [email protected]. Image courtesy of the Historical Society of Kent County.

 

March is Women’s History month, so for our first flashback photo of the month we have a c. 1970 photograph of a Kent County woman in military service, Eleanor Rochelle Ringgold. She stands on the footstep of a large military vehicle, in uniform, wearing glasses, and smiling at the camera. Image courtesy of Chesapeake Heartland.

 As always, if you have any additional details to share about this photograph, or about floating saw mills in Kent County, please email [email protected].

 

The first Flashback Photo of 2025 is an undated image of Still Pond Train Station. Part of the Philadelphia-Wilmington Baltimore line, in the Delaware Division of Pennsylvania Railroad, Still Pond was on the Chestertown branch line, which also included Lambson, Black, Kennedyville, Lynch and Chestertown. Despite ambitious plans, no train line ever made it as far as Rock Hall or Tolchester.

From On the Main Line The Pennsylvania Railroad in the 19th Century, by Edwin P. Alexander, published in 1971:

The Pennsylvania Railroad probably did more to make a photographic record through the nineteenth century than did most other railroads. From the late 1860s on, photographs of rolling stock, locomotives, and scenes along the line were made. Special trains, usually a locomotive with one or perhaps two cars, were sent out with photographers such as Gutekunst, W. T. Purviance, and H. Hipple in the 1920s.

In the center of the car’s clerestory roof, a small platform for setting up the camera may be seen in many pictures, and sometimes the car was lettered “Photographer’s Car.” At least forty of the photographs show the photographer’s train.

As usual, the Historical Society of Kent County’s museum and shop in the Bordley History Center will be closed for the winter months, but the offices will be open most weekdays. Limited Research Library appointments are available based on staff availability, and research requests are accepted via email at [email protected]. Stay warm!

Image courtesy of Historical Society of Kent County.

The eight day festival of Chanukah begins on December 25th this year, coinciding with Christmas, and overlapping with Kwanzaa from the 26th to January 1. These holidays all share traditions including candles and light at the darkest time of the year, food and feasting, gift-giving, and of course music and singing.

With all these holidays in mind, we have a wintry scene and a one-horse open sleigh for this holiday week’s Flashback Photo. More information about Kwanzaa, Chanukah, and Christmas traditions around the world is available at the links provided.

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to all! Image courtesy of Historical Society of Kent County.

What a formal and formidable group of college students this is! The only available information about this undated photo is a notation on the back reading “Washington College – 1900 – 1920 Era.” One or two of these fellows looks awfully young to be in college, but “college age” was still interpreted a little more loosely at that time than it is today. If you know any of these brilliant young men, or if you’re able to help pinpoint the year this photograph was taken, please let us know in the comments or by emailing [email protected]. Image courtesy of the Historical Society of Kent County.

 

 

 

We all like to look and feel our best, and to have a place to go and let our hair down, literally or metaphorically. These undated images labeled “Virginia Anthony Beauty Parlor” provide a glimpse into the self-care of an earlier era in Kent County. Do you recognize anyone in these photos? If so, please let us know in the comments or by emailing [email protected]. Image courtesy of the Historical Society of Kent County.

Today’s photo dates from 1936 and depicts a Kent County institution of yore: Gill Brothers Dairy. Gill Brothers was part of the Kent County economy and social scene, with the Parlor in Chestertown offering everything from milk to ice cream to… oysters? Yes, per an early 20th century advertisement in the Kent News, you could even drop in daily from 7 a.m. until 12 p.m. for “a nice plate of cream” or a light lunch including oysters, available “Fried, Stewed and Raw.” As seen in this image, the dairy was a model of the 1930s-era machine age with its emphasis on labor-saving technology, modernity and aerodynamic design. The Cross Street location remains an important site of Kent County commerce, a key source of gifts, clothing, and various other little luxuries and necessities, rather than delicious treats. It’s an easy quiz today: What local business is now in the Gill Brothers building? Image courtesy of the Historical Society of Kent County.