Courageous Women
Motherhood – A Force For Change
The Caroline County Historical Society is hosting a presentation by Kennedy Thomason at the Museum of Rural Life on Thursday, May 7th, 2026 at 6 PM. Please join us as Kennedy takes us on a journey discussing the impacts of mothers throughout the history of the United...
Currents of Change: The Choptank River’s Legacy in Slavery and the Pursuit of Freedom
Introduction The Choptank's waters, once pathways for the arrival and auction of enslaved African people, later became lifelines guiding daring escapes to freedom. Throughout America’s earliest years, Caroline County and the Choptank River bore witness to both...
The Death of 2LT Louise Hollister “Somewhere in the Pacific”
Louise Hollister, Maryland School of Nursing, Class of 1939. Native of Hillsboro.
2LT Louise A. Hollister, RN, Army Nurse Corps, 1942-1943, was Maryland’s only Army Nurse casualty in WWII.
Meet the young black woman from Tuckahoe Neck who helped Frederick Douglass escape
Their daughter Rosetta reminded those who admired her father:
“The story of Frederick Douglass’ hopes and aspirations and longing desire for freedom … was a story made possible by the unswerving loyalty of Anna Murray.”
#blackhistorymatters
First Black Churches
Jarena Lee (1783-1849) was the first female preacher of the African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church. She left her Philadelphia home in 1824 to visit Baltimore then travel and preach throughout the the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Her autobiography, The Life and Religious Experience of Jarena Lee, contains many references to people and places in Caroline and other Mid-Shore Counties, including many of the earliest Black Churches.
First Black Women
Meet Six Strong Black Women who were “First Ever”: Jarena Lee, Lucretia Kennard Daniels, Dr. Enolia P. McMillan, Gloria Richardson Dandridge, Edythe M. Jolley, Addie Clash Travers.
Murdered! Sallie Dean, Age 13
The murder of a Harmony schoolgirl in 1895 still shocks and fascinates
county residents and true crime enthusiasts.
Nettie Dean Carter – Ahead of Her Time
In an unusual twist of fate, the Ridgely native – and prominent teacher, suffragette, and businesswoman – received more attention from the Baltimore press than from local media during her remarkable lifetime.
The true reason why Frederick Douglass gave his heart to Anna Murray
Rosetta Douglass Sprague wrote in the memoir about her mother, Anna Murray Douglass, that young Frederick Bailey “gave his heart” to Anna Murray, and she “sympathized with him and she devoted all her energies to assist him” to escape slavery in Baltimore. Why Anna Murray? Because she was the girl from down home in Tuckahoe Neck.
#blackhistorymatters
First woman President of NAACP got her start in Denton
The first woman president of the NAACP, Dr. Enolia P. McMillan, started her professional career as a teacher in Caroline County in 1927, when she taught at the Denton segregated black high school.
#blackhistorymatters