One night in January 1916 a young William Wallace looked out his dorm window to see William Smith Hall on fire and raised the alarm. Wallace was born in Church Hill, and after he graduated in 1918, he joined the United States Marine Corps.
Once the degrees have been handed out most Washington College students return home to enjoy their summer before returning to school or embarking on their next adventure. But for those who stay in Chestertown, there is an event filled with history and fun for them to experience.
In the southeast corner of the state of Maryland, 10 miles off the coast of Crisfield and straddling the Maryland/Virginia line, lies Smith Island, the last inhabited island in Maryland not accessible by bridge.
Dictionaries. Clifton Miller library has hundreds of them. There are dictionaries on law, costumes, and statistics. However, in the mid 19th century, the struggle was to become THE dictionary of the English language.
…. So begins a rhyme my mother remembered from her college days in the mid-1950s. “…outdoor (fill in the blank) is now okay!”
Washington College was established in 1782 but it took six years for a building to be constructed specifically for the college. Rakestraw and Hicks of Philadelphia created the plans for a four-story building with two wings, which would cost $28,000 to build.
From the outside, Washington College’s copy of “Colonial recipes from old Virginia and Maryland Manors” by Maude A. Bomberger is not much to look at. Sure, the font on the spine and cover is kind of neat, there’s a cute drawing of a country estate on the front, and the cloth is a nice shade of blue. But the wear and tear on the spine are evident, the binding is clearly loose, and who wants to eat like an American colonist, anyway?
A small oddity found in the rare book room at Miller Library has left us with a little mystery; It is a small book measuring only five inches by three and a half inches but with over four hundred hand-written pages.
Clifton Miller Library’s Rare Book Room contains many books donated by other charitable libraries, former professors, alumni, and students. The bookplates tell the story of their former owners. However, many of the bookplates themselves are a mystery.
In celebration of April Fool’s Day, we present to our readers two truths and a lie about Washington College history and tradition. See if you can guess which are which! Just for fun, the lie will contain a grain of truth!
