Friday, April 1, 2011

Little Elk Creek Beehive

While heading north west to central Pennsylvania from the eastern shore of Maryland this caught my eye...
There are 3 of these stone buildings in a row right on the bank of Elk Creek in Fairhill, MD. This cluster of buildings is known as “the beehive”. The beehive buildings were built by stonemasons around 1720-1730. So old!
These buildings are known as an early industrial complex. Compare them to today’s industrial complexes? Geesh. Times sure have changed. Apparently, the Fairhill area used to be swarmed with commercial activity.
These buildings are currently being preserved by the Elk Creek Area Preservation Society and the Cecil County Farm Museum. These ruins were all boarded up. Look at how many locks there are on that door! The pressed-glass windows even had black fabric backing on the inside so that you couldn’t peek in. I would have loved to see what the inside of these buildings looked like. Too bad.
There used to be a few more structures on this site. They included a general store, 3 workers homes, and a coopers shop. History on the road! Glad that I stopped to investigate this historic spot.
Have you ever seen the beehive in person?

No comments: