Category: Museums

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Furnace Town Living Heritage Museum

Furnace Town and its Nassawango Iron Furnace comprise an educational site of local archaeological and historical interest.

FURNACE TOWN – enjoy a relaxing visit into 19th century village life. Located in the heart of the Pocomoke Forest, Maryland’s only bog-ore furnace is situated 5 miles north of Snow Hill on the banks of Nassawango Creek. Furnace Town and its Nassawango Iron Furnace (recognized by The American Society of Mechanical Engineers as a National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark) comprise an educational site of local archaeological and historical interest. The furnace and buildings are being restored, preserved and interpreted by Furnace Town Foundation, Inc.

Enter the historic site through the Furnace Town/Nature Conservancy Visitor Center, being completed this year. Exhibits focus on the natural and cultural history and features of the area. The Company Store offers books, regional specialties, and gifts, including products from our artisan shops.

Broom House at Furnace Town
(Click image to browse art.)

Stroll beneath towering pines through the village of Furnacetown artisan shops including a broom house, blacksmith shop, printshop, weaving house and woodworkers shop. Linger in the Old Nazareth Church and the Museum for a glimpse into the past. Enjoy the scents, sounds and sights of the 19th Century Kitchen Garden. A number of activities featuring art, music and living history are presented each season. The tranquil 25 acre grounds have picnic and walking areas for quiet solitude and peaceful afternoons.

Calling the Kettle Black
(Click image to browse wall art.)

THE NATURE CONSERVANCY’S PAUL LEIFER NATURE TRAIL has more than a mile of easily walked paths through the Pocomoke Forest and over the Nassawango Cypress swamp. The swamp’s maze of forest trees and undergrowth, “Nature’s Cleaning System,” is home to a quiet community of plant and animal life.

Furnace Town Historic Site is a project of Furnace Town Foundation, Inc., a not-for-profit corporation. Funds for restoration and interpretation of the 19th century village are realized from grants, donations, admissions, and Foundation memberships.

Iron Rat at Furnace Town
(Click image to browse wall art.)

Furnace Town Museum, Snow Hill, Worcester County, Maryland

3816 Old Furnace Road
P.O. Box 207
Snow Hill, MD 21863

Click to return to the Museums of Worcester County page.

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Isaac Costen House Museum

Circa 1870 – Home of Pocomoke City’s First Mayor, Doctor Isaac Costen

Costen House, A Brief History …

Costen House was built by Dr. Costen shortly after the Civil War and was lived in by members of his family for over a century. It is sponsored by the Spirit of Newtown Committee, founded in 1974, Myrtle A. Polk and a group of public-spirited citizens, when the home was threatened by demolition.

Dr. Costen was born on October 10, 1832 in Somerset County. Maryland, the son of William and Rosa Taylor Costen. He was educated at Washington Academy in Princess Anne and received his medical degree from Penn Medical College in Philadelphia in 1857.

During the Civil War, in addition to his medical duties, he was a Confederate blockade runner, carrying food and supplies at great personal risk across the lower Chesapeake Bay to the Hampton Roads area. He was also noted for his work with typhoid fever and stories abound of the good doctor traveling on horseback through the swamps during a severe typhus epidemic.

He came to live in Pocomoke, then known as Newtown, after the close of the Civil War. In l866, he married Miss Olivia Adams. They had seven children: Rose. Eleanor, Mary, William, Addie, Olivia, and Elizabeth.

At the time he was elected mayor of Pocomoke City in 1888, Dr. Costen had already served fifteen years on the Democratic State Central Committee. He had been elected to the Maryland State Legislature in 1881, where he served only one term, citing his patients’ needs as the reason for not returning to Annapolis. He was a trustee of Pocomoke High School and an Elder and Trustee of Pitts Creek Presbyterian Church. He served two terms as mayor, 1888-l892 and in l908 was again elected mayor to serve two more terms. Dr. Costen died at his home on April 1, l931, just six months short of his 99th birthday.

Photo by Linda Busick.

The Hall-Walton Memorial Garden

Two people who took an interest in the preservation of Costen House were Ernest and Julia Hall Walton. Both were Pocomoke City natives, and Julia, a cousin of the Costen children, had grown up in a big brick house around the corner from Costen House. She had happy memories of playing in the adjoining gardens as a child and her lovely wedding there in the early twentieth century. They had a dream of one day restoring the garden in their families’ memory.

The Hall home had long ago passed out of the Hall family, and had been demolished. Later, when the land was sold, only two beautiful crepe myrtles remained of the once lovely garden. In 1979, Mrs. Walton, widowed and in her 90’s, bought the land and deeded it to the Spirit of Newtown Committee. Her dream had come true.

The lot was cleared, and a variety of trees and shrubs were planted. A curved brick walk and Charleston Battery benches were added, and a Phortina hedge marked the perimeter of the garden. A special fragrance garden was dedicated to Mrs. Walton’s generosity. On May Day, 1983, she was the guest of honor at the garden dedication. A year later, the Pocomoke River Garden Club gave a Victorian gazebo in memory of Mrs. Walton and their own departed members.

The Hall-Walton Garden, like Costen House, is a legacy which must be preserved for future generations. (Isabelle K. Leach)

Costen House Museum, Pocomoke City, Worcester County, Maryland

206 Market Street
Pocomoke City, MD 21851

Click to return to the Museums of Worcester County page.

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Sturgis One Room School Museum

This small structure was built about 100 years ago on Brantley Road on land that was purchased by William Sturgis in 1888.

Sturgis One Room School Museum, formerly known as Sturgis School, is the only African American One Room School in Worcester County retaining its original integrity. It is a small structure built about 100 years ago on Brantley Road on land that was purchased by William Sturgis in 1888.

Sturgis One Room School operated as a school for 37 years. Grades 1 – 7 were taught by one teacher until it closed its doors in 1937. At that time students were transferred to Stephen Long School in the town of Pocomoke City, Maryland.

For several years afterwards the school served as home for the aging William Sturgis. After the school was vacated by William Sturgis, it remained unattended and fell into a state of disrepair.

In 1996, a group of interested citizens, under the leadership of the Worcester County Historical Society, purchased the school from the Sturgis family and moved it to its present location in downtown Pocomoke City, Maryland.

Restoration and outfitting the Sturgis One Room School is an ongoing task of Sturgis One Room School Museum, Inc. It has been made possible through funds from Pocomoke City, Worcester County, charitable organizations, and personal contributions.

Sturgis One Room School Museum, Inc. is an organization that actively works to preserve, promote, and protect the rich cultural heritage of Sturgis One Room School and educate our youth to value the school’s cultural and historical richness.

Sturgis One Room School Museum, Pocomoke City, Worcester County, Maryland.

209 Willow Street
Pocomoke City, Maryland
410-957-1913

Click to return to the Museums of Worcester County page.