|
|
Fairmount Academy Metamorphosis |
| By
Barbara Dougherty |
November 2003 |
Recovering from the shock of losing their school, residents around Upper Fairmount in Somerset County have set about preserving a lifestyle. If you have been down Route 361, which is also called Fairmount Road, you might have seen the Fairmount Academy. It sits on the north side of the road about six miles down from the turnoff on Route 413. There are now four buildings on the 1 ˝ acre property, which is kept neatly manicured by the Fairmount Academy Historical Association, a registered 501c3 non-profit organization. Somerset County owns the buildings and grounds and gave the association a one-hundred year lease. The association has no paid staff; it is an all-volunteer group.
Most of the time the property is serene and quiet. During the year there are two big events held there. In keeping with a 28-year tradition, always on the last Saturday in May, the association puts on its Fairmount Academy 1800’s Festival. On this day, the grounds and exhibits are open for viewing. There are oysters, soft crabs, strawberry shortcake, and homemade ice cream to eat, plus folk dancing, craft exhibits, pony rides, and a quilting display. Then in December (in 2003, on December 13 from 6-9 p.m.) the Academy hosts a public potluck Christmas celebration with singing and gift exchange. The association bought two adjacent acres to provide a parking lot for visitors to these festivities.
The grounds, the buildings, and the thousands of artifacts displayed in the buildings may also be toured by appointment. Many Somerset County third, fourth, and fifth graders tour the Academy during the school year.
The Academy began in the 1830’s, first with a temporary structure housing public school students in grades 1-12. The current Academy structure was built in the 1860’s. Children attending school came from a region then called Tater Neck. Today these areas are known as the separate communities of Fairmount, Upper Fairmount, Rumbly, and Frenchtown. In the 1860’s over one hundred families owned homes in the region and they mostly lived off the water. The area supported two big general stores, six churches, and at least one doctor’s office.
The meeting hall on the Academy property was built in 1872 for the Knights of Pythias Lodge No. 77. The Knights were members of a group started by Justus H. Rathbone. “In response to the anger, hatred and revenge that was rampant during the Civil War years, Justus Henry Rathbone felt an urgent need to rekindle brotherly sentiment throughout the land. He believed that the spark of brotherly love kindled by the old Pythagorean Brotherhood (a secret society) still burned deep in the hearts of men. He decided that this old spirit could be revived and a new fraternity could be established under which men would gather under one common banner.” In Fairmount a chapter of Knights was formed, and this society conducted secret ceremonies and performed good works for the community.
The architectural style of both the lodge (now a museum) and the schoolhouse are known as “Italianate-influenced.” These are rectangular frame buildings, each two stories high with sash windows. Heating these large structures was done by wood burning stoves; later more conventional heating was installed.
As commerce and population dwindled in the communities, the school was forced to close. The last high school graduation was held in 1927. Elementary school children attended until the Academy ceased to serve as a public school in 1969. Nevette Muir, current president of the Fairmount Academy Historical Association, was a student there, and his memories are fond. “We had something going on the stage almost every Friday night,” he says. “It might be a spelling bee, or a skit. We called them assemblies, and they were standing room only.”
In recent years two more structures have been added to the collection. One is an old barbershop originally in Crisfield. The other building was added to serve as a kitchen during the yearly festival. Over the last 30 years, Fairmount Academy Historical Association volunteers have worked to preserve the property and anything else indigenous to the area that might have historical value. Thus inside the buildings you can find corn huskers, waterman dredges and crab traps, tongs, old medical supplies, Indian artifacts, farm implements and archeological remnants. One local resident, Atwood Barwick spent hours researching, digging and identifying colonial artifacts that have all been installed in cases in the Academy.
Many issues face the organization. The old Rumbly post office has been donated to the Academy, but it must be moved to the property first. As people talk over the work and funding necessary to move the building they also speak of their hopes for the future. A cherished vision is to hire a director and to keep the buildings open regular hours for the public. Muir has led the Academy’s association for 15 years, which meets monthly with roughly 12-20 local stalwarts in attendance. (They may be reached by e-mail at karlz@dmv.com.) Most of the people in the Association are either older or are busy with daily work. Where to find the time, the expertise, and the funding to bring the vision these people share to fruition? This is a question not just for the association members but for the entire area and the county. Looking at the potential, it is hard to deny the possibilities. Within sight of the Academy is the Schoolridge Farm, a two-story structure built around 1800, recognized by the Maryland Historical Trust for its federal architecture. Around the bend, an old general store in Upper Fairmount begs for restoration. Just five miles further down the road is Rumbly, one of the few remaining working watermen’s marinas. There you can see old work boats and crab tanks for shedding peelers (soft shell crabs). Close by the Farm and the Academy, between the beautiful Annemessex and Manokin rivers, the Fairmount Wildlife Management Area is a nature refuge. It is tempting to envision a metamorphosis of the Academy from schoolhouse to a centerpiece for heritage tourism. It is not hard to imagine keeping visitors busy through a meal or two and a tour of the area and a visit to the Academy. Somerset County is rich in these kinds of resources. Now is the time to inventory the possibilities and explore programs that would benefit the entire county.
Related Links:
Fairmount Academy Historical Association
http://www.museumsusa.org/data/museums/MD/179484.htm
National Register of Historic Places
http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/MD/Somerset/districts.htm
Fairmount Wildlife Management Area
http://www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/eastern/fairmount.html
Schoolridge Farm
http://www.marylandhistoricaltrust.net/nr/NRDetail.asp?HDID=823&FROM=NRMapSO.html
Knights of Pythias www.pythias.org
Barbara Dougherty is an artist and writer who lives in Upper Fairmount MD. She is the director of the Art Institute and Gallery in Salisbury, MD (http://www.artinstitute-and-gallery.org/index.html). Ms. Dougherty graduated recently from the University of Phoenix with a master’s degree in Organizational Management.
© University of Maryland Eastern Shore 2005. All rights reserved.
|
Additional Photos
 |
Click here to enlarge
The festival in May includes a quilting demonstration. Photo courtesy Somerset County Tourism. |
 |
Click here to enlarge
Center, the Knights of Pythias Lodge; right, the Academy; left, a new kitchen and restrooms added by the Association. Photo by Kat Harting. |
 |
Click here to enlarge
The Fairmount Wildlife Management Area’s 4,000 acres are mostly marshlands and managed by the state. Photo by Kat Harting. |
Questions or comments regarding
this article should be
addressed to the editor:
Katherine Harting
Room 2133 Richard A. Henson Center
University of Maryland Eastern Shore
Princess Anne, MD 21853
Telephone: 410-651-6084
E-mail: kharting@umes.edu
 Read more articles
|
