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Charles Sumner Lodge
206 South Queen Street
Chestertown, Maryland
Kent County
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| The Charles Sumner Lodge is located on the north side of South
Queen Street in Chestertown, Kent County. Built in 1908, the
lodge served as the local post for African-American veterans
of the Civil War who were members of the Grand Army of the Republic.
Named for abolitionist Charles Sumner, it was built to preserve
the legacy of the Union cause and functioned as the community
meeting place for the African-American population of Chestertown
for many years. The most visible action on the part of the black
GAR within the local community was making May 30th “Decoration
Day,” later renamed Memorial Day, a day to remember the
Civil War Dead. For four decades, until the 1920’s, local
GAR members decorated white and black soldier graves on this
day. The Grand Army of the Republic also had a female component
called the Women Relief’s Corps, which had a post at the
Sumner Lodge. These women attended to local widows and orphans,
and dealt with burials and administration of lodge community
events. After the last GAR vet died in 1928, the females of the
WRC continued to run the post. After a change in ownership it
continued to serve as a social hall for the African-American
community. Ella Fitzgerald and Chick Webb are reported to have
performed in this building in 1938. It was last occupied during
the 1980s and has since fallen into a state of disrepair. |
| The lodge, a two-story, frame building measuring
approximately 44 feet deep
by 22 feet wide is covered in asphalt shingle siding.
The gable-front southeast elevation contains only two openings,
one double-hung sash window on the second floor and a double
door on the first floor. This main entrance to the building is
of simple construction. |
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The double doors each contain a window on the top and two
long narrow panels on the bottom. While the doors are simple
they contain ornate hardware, including decorative hinges.
A two-light transom tops the front door. |
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| Both side elevations contain four evenly spaced double-hung
sash windows on each floor. The rear elevation, currently
covered in ivy, contains a door that opens into a back room
on the first floor. Remnants of an outhouse are also located
off the rear elevation. |
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| The interior floor plan and details of the lodge tell a story
about those who built and used it. This simple, open plan is
combined with various architectural details which are decorative
and provide contrast for the simple construction style. The doors
on both the first and second floor are decorated with ornate
hardware. The first floor is divided into three areas. |
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| The entrance measures approximately 6 feet
deep by 21 feet wide
and originally contained two stairways. Under the east stairwell
there is a coal cupboard. The walls of the entrance hallway
are finished with lath and plaster on top, and wainscoting
covering the lower portion of the wall. |
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The largest area on the first floor is a
central room measuring approximately 27 feet deep by 21 feet
wide. This central room contains three windows on each outside
wall,
a chimney, and a door to the north room. A chamfered summer
beam supported by chamfered posts runs from the south end
of the room to the north wall of the building. |
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| The north end of the first floor contains a
smaller room measuring approximately 10 feet deep by 21 feet
wide. A door in the north wall leads to the outside and provides
easy
access
to the outhouse. |
| The second floor is divided into two sections,
the stair hallway and one large open room. Each stair opens into
a small, central
hallway measuring approximately 4 feet wide by 6 feet deep
and lit by a single window. |
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| The hallway is enclosed with doors at the top of each stairway
and a door into the large room. Each door contains a peephole.
This can best be described as a security feature. People
would only be allowed to pass through the door after giving
the password through the peephole. |
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The open room measures approximately 44
feet deep by 23 feet wide
and contains a stage at the north end which measures approximately
8 feet deep by 23 feet wide. The stage is a simple platform
with a chimney stack located centrally on the stage against
the north wall. |
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| There are three windows on each of the side walls and a
second chimney stack is located centrally on the east wall. |
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| The various details in the building’s construction speak
to its role as a lodge. The peepholes are a feature common in
the lodges documented for this project. There was a similar door
with peephole found at Freedom’s Friend Lodge in St. Michael’s.
The large open rooms and the stage support its use as a community
gathering place. These large rooms and the use as a community
building are also representative of lodge construction. The Charles
Sumner Lodge, however, contains a unique feature. As a constant
reminder of the Union cause a faint blue stripe runs along the
top of the walls on both the first and second floors. |
| The Charles Sumner Lodge demonstrates how easily historic buildings
can slip into disrepair from a lack of use. It is also an example
of how a community can work together to save such a resource.
Currently owned by Preservation, Inc., the lodge is in the early
stages of restoration process. There have been efforts by local
community members to clean up around the building, including
removing vegetation growing on and around the lodge. Preservation,
Inc. applied for and received grants from Maryland Historical
Trust, Kent County Heritage Trust, and the Historical Society
of Kent County, and has hired Schamu, Machowski, and Greco, Associates
of Baltimore to oversee the restoration process. Preservation,
Inc., intends to restore the building for use as a showcase for
African-American history as it pertains to Chestertown. Continual
efforts are made to seek financial grants from non-profit organizations
and private benefactors to make their efforts to preserve and
restore the lodge a reality. The various efforts of the community,
as well as a history of the building are documented in the March/April
2003 issue of Preservation magazine. |
| Contact Person: Kees DeMooy (410) 810-7156/http://starrcenter.washcoll.edu/ |
| Goodheart, Adam. "Homage to Black Union Hereos." Preservation.
March/April 2003, 7-10. |
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