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The 20th Annual Report of the Baltimore &

Ohio Railroad, dated October, 1845, stated that a thirty-mile section of track east of Harpers Ferry would be replaced with iron rails before the end of that year. Presumably the house was built with framing from the abandoned rails the following year, 1846, as it is unlikely that the wooden rails would have been allowed to deteriorate before being used. Joseph Waltman sold the property to John Short April 3, 1851, and there began the chain of events that subsequently caused the property to be known as the "Musgrove Place." For a brief period during the Civil War this house was the headquarters of Major General Alfred Pleasanton, Commander-in-Chief, Cavalry Corps, Army of the Potomac. Following the battle of Gettysburg- July 1, 2, and 3, 1863 - the Union forces pursued Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. During the middle of July of that year, a major portion of the Army of the Potomac reached Berlin and crossed the Potomac here. General Pleasanton informed Mr. Short that he would require a portion of the residence as his headquarters and selected the lower front room on the right side for this purpose. It is quite possible, highly probable, that this house echoed to othe rattle of the spurs and sabre of Brigadier General George A. Custer, the "Beau Sabour" of the Federal cavalry arm, for his brigade crossed the Potomac at Berlin. Custer was then 24 years of age. His appointment with destiny and immortality at Little Big Horn lay 13 years in the future. Confederate prisoners of war were brought to Pleasanton's headquarters for questioning. A little girl, Indiana Short, daughter of the owner of the property, feeling sorry for them, offered them food, but was admonished by the Union authorities not to doso. When little Miss Short grew to womanhood, she married Mr. Walper Musgrove, and they made this their home. In 1902 Mr. Musgrove modified the house into a full two-story building. In 1937 the property was purchased by Mr. W. Claude Lutman, who during his residency made extensive changes in the appearance of the house. While working on the south side of the front yard, Mrs. Lutman unearthed a relic of the Civil War-an unexploded cylindrical shell. In 1946 Steadman-Keenan Post 96, American Legion, purchased the property and subsequently added a wing to the north side. In 1977 the American Legion razed this building, probably the most

history-laden house in town. Note: This story was orig{nally written by David Brown. It has been up-dated by the Brunswick History Commission.

NICODEMUS BUILDING

The three-story Nicodemus building was located on the east side of the intersection of Delaware Avenue and the present Walnut Street. Before it was razed in 1974, it had experienced a varied and important history. Edward C. Schafer bought the multi-use structure in 1906 from Edward and Rose Hudson. Shafer published the Brunswick Herald newspaper in the front first-floor room from 1906 until 1912. The main apartment occupied the rear portion. Another apartment was on the second floor. The third floor had two bedrooms and a bathroom; the back room was so large that there was sufficient area for the owners to hold private, wellattended dances there. Ethel Merriman Donovan remembers from before 1927 a bell decoration hanging in the middle of the room. In the basement, the Nicodemus Bottling Works became Brunswick's first soft-drink bottler. In the back yard, there was an old ice house of thick logs, where ice cut from the frozen river was stored to last over the summer. Ethel and Walter Donovan "went to housekeeping" here in 1928 and returned after a brief move to Baltimore. When the Shafers moved to 22 North Virginia Avenue, Chauncey and Wilbur Nicodemus bought the house, which remained in the Nicodemus family until 1961. Thus the house acquired its name. S - Louise Nicodemus Porte - Ethel M. Donovan W - MMM

LOT 80 "ON THE SQUARE"

In 1873 Andrew Shilling bought Lot 80. Presumably, he built a modest frame dwelling there. After Andrew's death, his children inherited in 1894 the oddly shaped lot, bound by a stream now called Martin's Creek. The children were Martha Shilling Darr Callary, Kate Shilling Barger, Sally Shilling Wentzel, and Joseph Shilling. Martha was able to buy out her siblings. Through negotiations with the United States Post Office Department (now U.S. Postal Service) the present

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