La Plata in Charles County, Maryland — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

La Plata Elementary School

Photographed by Rico Ramirez, July 15, 2024

1. La Plata Elementary School Marker

Inscription. Destroyed by a tornado on November 9, 1926. Thirteen pupils and four townspeople lost their lives and approximately thirty-five were injured. The school stood 433 feet northwest of this site on a rise in a residential area near the junction of Wicomico and Somerset Streets. The names of the pupils are memorialized on a plaque in the foyer of the Milton M. Somers School.

Erected by La Plata Centennial Commission and the Maryland Historical Society.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Disasters • Education • Notable Events. In addition, it is included in the Maryland Historical Trust series list. A significant historical date for this entry is November 9, 1926.

Location. 38° 31.477′ N, 76° 58.133′ W. Marker is in La Plata, Maryland, in Charles County. It is at the intersection of Willow Lane and Willow Lane South, on the right when traveling east on Willow Lane. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 5 Willow Ln, La Plata MD 20646, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Washington Metropolitan Area

and in Southern Maryland.

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It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

in the Mid-Atlantic,

in the Tidewater,

and on the Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once one of the original Thirteen Colonies

and also the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Remembrance (approx. 0.4 miles away); La Plata Train Museum (approx. half a mile away); Star Memorial Garden (approx. 0.6 miles away); Christ Church (approx. 0.7 miles away); September 11 Memorial (approx. 0.8 miles away); Old Durham Church, Episcopal - 1692 (approx. 0.8 miles away); World War I Memorial (approx. 1.2 miles away); Korean Conflict Memorial (approx. 1.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in La Plata.

La Plata Elementary School image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Richard White, February 3, 2007

2. La Plata Elementary School

National Park Service, Thomas Stone National Historic Site, November 15, 2015

3. La Plata Elementary School Marker

Photographed by Jacqui Chalifoux, July 14, 2010

4. La Plata Elementary School Marker

Located at the end of Willow Lane, you can see Milton Somers Middle School in the background.

La Plata Elementary School Plaque image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Jacqui Chalifoux, July 14, 2010

5. La Plata Elementary School Plaque

In memory of those childred whose lives were lost in the destruction of the former La Plata School by a tornado, November 9, 1926 and to whom this school is dedicated.
Henry H. Clagett. • Lillian Alberta Della. • Theresa Estella Bean. • Edward Donald Richard Bean. • Andrew Jackson Clark, Jr. • James La Viga Martin. • Mary Alice Cooksey. • Benjiman Tildon Cooksey. • Robert Lester St. Clair. • Mary Lucilla Miles. • James Frederick Maddox. • Mary Ellen Bowie. • Lucille Anna Edwards.

15 Killed and 40 Hurt in Cyclone; <br>La Plata School Dead put at 12 image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Allen C. Browne, September 26, 2011

6. 15 Killed and 40 Hurt in Cyclone;
La Plata School Dead put at 12

Maryland Independent, Thursday November 11, 1926 mounted in the lobby of the Milton M. Somers Middle School.

Wicomico and Somerset image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Allen C. Browne, September 26, 2011

7. Wicomico and Somerset

Today the corner of Wicomico and Somerset is occupied by the Civista Medical Center.

La Plata farm image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Allen C. Browne, September 26, 2011

8. La Plata farm

This property known as the old LaPlata farm was the home site of General John Grant Chapman born July 5, 1798 and died 1856 grandfather of Major Henry Hendley Chapman the last owner of this part of a large grant of land made by the king of england to three chapman brothers who settled in America in 1642. (Plaque in the lobby of the Milton M. Somers Middle School)

Credits. This page was last revised on July 27, 2024. It was originally submitted on April 8, 2007, by Richard White of La Plata, Maryland. This page has been viewed 4,628 times since then and 79 times this year. Last updated on July 14, 2024, by Rico Ramirez of Prince Frederick, Maryland. Photos: 1. submitted on July 26, 2024, by Rico Ramirez of Prince Frederick, Maryland. 2. submitted on April 8, 2007, by Richard White of La Plata, Maryland. 3. submitted on January 17, 2019, by David Lassman of Waldorf, Maryland. 4, 5. submitted on July 14, 2010, by Jacqueline White of Williamsburg, VA - Virginia. 6, 7, 8. submitted on November 19, 2013, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.