Leonardtown, Maryland

We spent several days with our youngest son and his wife when we first headed south from our igloo in Canada. We went to Washington, DC on our first day and then we did some local touring on our second day.

Matthew and Madison are living with Madison’s parents while Matthew waits for his immigration paperwork to be processed. As with most things related to government, the process is proving to take some time. They married last June and we may not see the initial processing completed until June of this year. Regardless, Matthew had his B-2 Visa extended for another year and his employer in Canada is supporting his remote work until his position can be transferred to the US office.

They live in a log home in the country. A really nice spot in Maryland, although I think they might want to add a Canadian flag to the front porch.

We spent the day touring Leonardtown, a small community not too far from where they live.

We walked through numerous shops and then had lunch at the Front Porch.

The Front Porch restaurant, aka the Sterling House, is an historic landmark. It was purchased in 1911 for the Sterling family. A family which included seventeen children!

From there we went over to the courthouse where Matthew and Madison had obtained their marriage license.

Next to the courthouse is the Old Jail Museum.

The jail was constructed in 1876 and has two rooms downstairs that served as living quarters for the jailer and his family, and three cells upstairs: one for white women, one for white men and one for all African Americans. The rear addition was added in 1928 and provided indoor plumbing.

The jail remained in operation until 1945. Its claim to fame? The jail was part of the Underground Railroad. It housed the only lynching victim in St. Mary’s County, and is run by the oldest sheriff’s department in the USA.