A century before Ridgely, there was Boonsboro.

During 1800-1850, Boonsboro was a thriving crossroads village with a church, school, wheelwright shop, and homes.  Its leading citizens were the descendants of John Boon, who acquired large landholdings nearby in the late 1700s.

 

Boonsboro disappeared before 1900. The historic Boon farmhouse vanished suddenly before 2016.  Only the family burial plot remains.

Maps, aerial photos, and a CRH site visit in 2009 tell the story.

April 2009 – CRH overflight and site visit:

2014 – Satellite imagery with cemetery plot marked:

2016 – Maryland state aerial imagery with cemetery plot marked:

Why?

Apparently to make way for center-pivot irrigation: