Preserving The Past | Creating Memories
Everyone who has accompanied me to the area is immediately struck with the natural beauty and serenity of the Doe Bridge Nature Preserve and the Doe Bridge Mill historical area.
But what about the Millsboro East Bypass?
Won’t the Doe Bridge Nature Preserve and the Doe Bridge Mill areas be affected?
Can these environmentally-sensitive and historically significant areas coexist alongside a highway bypass?
If the last plans regarding the Millsboro East Red-Blue Bypass remain valid, the
A cemetery is all that remains of an old church near Doe Bridge outside of Millsboro. But members of a local history group may have found more clues.
On December 4, 2011, during a planned walkabout by our Doe Bridge Association group, one member probed the ground outside of the little cemetery. Thus he found what may be the foundation of the Old Indian River Presbyterian Church, along two divergent lines that connected in a right angle,
Less than a quarter mile from the Kollock cemetery, on the east side of Delaware 30, just south of Doc Frame Road, is another cemetery. Here lie the bodies of Paynter Frame, an early owner of Doe Bridge Mill, and other members of his family.
“At Lawrence’s death in 1758 the tract with its mill was sold to Robert Fraim (later spelled ‘Frame’) for 500 pounds. This was a goodly sum compared to other land sales at the time and was further evidence that the tract on ‘Deep Branch’
The Evidence Was Still There!
Clearly identifiable on the USDA aerial photo that I held in my hands, even through the treetop canopy, was a thin line that could only be the remnants of that old colonial road. It wound from Delaware 30, in almost perfect alignment with Doc Frame Road, turned in the woods, passed near the Revel house, and disappeared at the mill site.
You mean golf on a rainy afternoon?
No, not golf links…
I mean links to some neat sites on the Internet. Check these out and copy or bookmark them in your browser –
At one time, Somerset County extended well up into what is now Sussex County and created quite a tiff between the Penns and Calverts. Here are a couple websites with a wealth of information about families, cemeteries, maps, etc., in Old Somerset: The USGenWeb Project and The Somerset County Historical Society.
Or check out Handley’s by clicking here –
If you need map information, use this link –
Till next time…
Millsboro By-Pass
In late November last year, I was contacted by a WBOC-TV reporter who asked for an interview concerning the proposed Millsboro By-Pass. I accepted and agreed to meet with him at Doe Bridge. Many visitors to this website may have already seen the article and the video. As I stated to the reporter in comments that did not make the final video cut (and I’m paraphrasing from memory), “I understand the need for a by-pass to alleviate the heavy traffic that is beating Millsboro’s infrastructure to dust, but I am likewise sympathetic with those property owners who will have to endure the shift in traffic to their backyards as the result of any by-pass. While I cannot speak for my friends, as I am not a spokesperson for them, my personal desire is to learn as much about the history of the Doe Bridge area as possible before nature or man takes that opportunity from us.”