History Crumbs

These short bits of history tend to pile up as I do more research on various topics. Unless otherwise credited, all quotes are from the Laurel Leader.

1902

A commuter trolley service running between Laurel and Washington, DC began in 1902. The trolley originated from the building on Main Street that later became the Town Tavern/Oliver’s Old Towne Saloon and ended on G Street, NW, next to the Treasury Building. In 1904, a conductor on the Laurel-to-Washington electric trolley was killed when the trolley’s brakes failed as it approached the end of the line at Sixth and Main Streets in Laurel. The trolley ran off the rails and continued down the embankment to the Patuxent River below. The commuter service was so popular that plans were made to extend the line northward through Savage and Annapolis Junction, where it would connect with the Ellicott City-to-Baltimore rail service. The plans never materialized. The trolley ran until 1925

1916

In February, the Belgian Minister, who had visited Laurel with his American-born wife five years earlier, purchased the Montpelier mansion and surrounding land. The purchase fueled speculation that the Belgian official would retire and move to Laurel. He purchased it from architect Otto Von Schrader, who restored much of the grounds.

1918

In June, “Miss Doris Lanahan has recovered from an attack of measles.”

In August, the Leader warned that “the ice conditions in Laurel are very bad. This is a necessity for many people and the dealers should make supreme efforts to secure ice in quantities.” There was no explanation why the ice situation was very bad. Refrigerators were still about 10 years from common usage in homes.

In October, an explosion in a gasoline stove started a fire in the laundry operated by Hong Tsing Lee on Main Street. “Notwithstanding the Fire Department was promptly on the scene the contents of the building was destroyed,” according to the Leader. The building was owned by Mayor George Waters.

1921

In February, 74-year-old decorated veteran Brig Gen. Earl Denison Thomas died in his home in Laurel. General Thomas, a West Point graduate, saw action in the Civil War, the Indian Wars, and the Spanish-American War.

In April, “the whipping post and the right of the warden to apply lashes up to the number 13, along with the use of the ball and chain,” all of which had been permissible though “not always applied” since 1889, were abolished at the Maryland Penitentiary and the House of Correction, both in Baltimore.

1925

In January, a notice was published that Montpelier Mansion and the surrounding land would go up for auction on Feb. 21, 1925. According to the notice, “This property is one of the finest country seats in Maryland, located near Contee Station on the road leading in a southeasterly direction from Contee Station about a mile from the Washington and Baltimore Boulevard, and situated on Patuxent River; improvements consist of a magnificent old Colonial brick residence containing many rooms, a fine new stable suitable for cows, and other outbuildings; property has been used as a dairy farm and is in a high state of cultivation.”

1936

In May, the following notice was published in the Leader: “MULE FOUND. Any person missing a mule can locate the same by telephoning Laurel 47-F-12 and furnishing proper identification, paying the cost of keep and of this advertisement.”

1952

In February, Mrs. Emma B. Roberts passed away in her home on Montgomery Street at the age of 85. Her husband, Thomas D. Roberts, was Mayor of Laurel for 18 months in 1924 and 1925. In 1929, Mrs. Roberts, who was a charter member of the Laurel Woman’s Club, donated the property at 384 Main Street jointly to the Laurel Library Association and the Woman’s Club. This allowed the library to move from the cramped Patuxent Bank building to spacious new quarters, where it remained until 1967 when the new Stanley Memorial Library opened on Seventh Street.

1966

In February, Laurel Senior High Sophomore, Junior, and Senior classes moved to the new high school on Cherry Lane.

1971

In May, WRC-TV (channel 4) in Washington, DC aired a depressing 10-minute segment that highlighted Laurel’s growth woes. When a clip of Route 1 through Laurel was shown, the narrator said it was “embarrassing testimony to poor planning.” “Development here preceded good neighborhood master planning,” said Laurel Chamber of Commerce Director Kenneth Duncan. W.C. Dutton, head of the PG County Planning Commission, added that “Lack of planning is a handicap and Laurel has developed without restraint.” Mayor Merrill Harrison predicted, “I am afraid that the entire section known as Laurel will be commercial and we’ll have to annex land for the residential sections.” The narrator concluded the segment with “Laurel is the city of the future, but the future is in doubt.”

2000

Alfred Rascon was awarded the nation’s highest military honor for his actions during the Vietnam War. In 1966, he exposed himself to enemy fire to save a wounded machine gunner and was shot in the hip. Despite his wound, he returned to the machine gun to gather up and distribute ammunition to his platoon. He then shielded his fellow soldiers from a grenade blast, receiving shrapnel wounds to his face and back. Rascon, a North Laurel resident and immigrant from Mexico, received his medal from President Bill Clinton at the White House, with ten members of his old platoon looking on. He was the third Laurel resident to receive the Medal of Honor, following Capt. George Albee in 1894 and Sgt. Karl Taylor in 1971.

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Kevin Leonard is a founding member of the Laurel History Boys and a two-time winner of the Maryland Delaware District of Columbia Press Association Journalism Award.