St. Michaels in Talbot County, Maryland — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Log House
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Farm laborer's log house
Henrietta and Albert T. Wilson raised eight children in this log house located one mile south of Trappe, Maryland in the late 1800s. Albert was a farm overseer and laborer at the nearby Welsh farm. Later census records indicate Albert and Henny were born in Mayrland but they do not appear in the 1860 Census of Free Persons; they may have been enslaved.
Oral tradition holds that following Emancipation, the Wilsons purchased the house from the Baker family. In the 1800s and early 1900s, both white and Black farm laborers in the Chesapeake region lived in simple, timber frame houses with one main floor room used for cooking, eating, and washing, and a sleeping loft and storage above. By 1893, a two-story addition housed the growing Wilson family, and they doubled the size of their land to one and a half acres. After Albert's death in 1912, his son's family lived on the property until 1930. Grandson Lester Wilson recalled his grandmother sleeping in the two-story addition. Henny died in 1935.
Built about 1830, the structure is a rare surviving example of a once-common house type. Most of the oak logs, the panel door and ceiling joists are original, but the fieldstone chimney was reconstructed. In 1983, the log house was separated from its two-story addition and relocated to
this page online
[Captions:]
A typical tenant farming cabin, Cecil County, ca. 1900.
Maryland State Archives Collection.
After it was moved from Trappe, Maryland to Foggs Cove, CBMM staff restored the log house in 1985-1986.
Collection of the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum.
Erected by Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Agriculture • Notable Buildings. A significant historical year for this entry is 1860.
Location. 38° 47.308′ N, 76° 13.303′ W. Marker is in St. Michaels, Maryland, in Talbot County. It can be reached from the intersection of North Talbot Street and Dodson Avenue, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 213 N Talbot St, Saint Michaels MD 21663, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is on the Eastern Shore. It is also in the American Mid-Atlantic, on the Delmarva Peninsula, in the Tidewater, and in the Chesapeake Bay Region. 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 walking distance of this marker: Heirloom Vegetable & Herb Garden (a few steps from this marker); Mitchell House (a few steps from this marker); Hooper Straight Light's Twin (within shouting distance of this marker); Last Bell Foundry (within shouting distance of this marker); A Light Survivor (within shouting distance of this marker); Freedom's Figurehead
Credits. This page was last revised on October 5, 2025. It was originally submitted on October 5, 2025, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 45 times since then and 13 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on October 5, 2025, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
