Ed Carey, Author at Ed Carey dot com

Doe Bridge Association Meeting

19-Dec-1906-Mar-12 by Ed Carey

The Doe Bridge Association met on Sunday, March 4^th, and welcomed a new face, George Allen Adkins. Dan Parsons, Sussex County Historic Preservation Planner, was also in attendance. He is interested in helping us and will call later in the week, to arrange a visit to both sites.

A gallery of photos from the Atwood Timmons 1955-1980 collection was presented and those images from Millsboro’s past brought back lots of memories for everyone. These will be put up on the website very soon, with access also provided to enable copies or prints to be made. This feature will, of course, extend to all future additions to the photo gallery.

Image-Main Street-Millsboro-Looking South-1958 — Main Street, Millsboro, Looking South, 1958

Doe Bridge – History Meets Destiny – Part 5 of 5

19-Dec-1926-Feb-12 by Ed Carey

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?

proposed-bypass-near-doe-bridge — Proposed Bypass Route Near Doe Bridge

If the last plans regarding the Millsboro East Red-Blue Bypass remain valid, the

Doe Bridge – History Meets Destiny – Part 4 of 5

19-Dec-1923-Feb-12 by Ed Carey

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.

doe-bridge-association-at-cemetery-near-doe-bridge — Searching for evidence

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,

Doe Bridge – History Meets Destiny – Part 3 of 5

19-Dec-1919-Feb-12 by Ed Carey

paynter-frame-grave-marker — Grave site of Paynter Frame – early Doe Bridge Mill owner

Doe Bridge – More Connections

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’

Doe Bridge – History Meets Destiny – Part 2 of 5

19-Dec-1916-Feb-12 by Ed Carey

The Evidence Was Still There!

colonial-kings-highway-at-doe-bridge-aerial-photo — Colonial Kings Highway At Doe Bridge

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.

Links For A Rainy Afternoon

29-Jul-1914-Feb-12 by Ed Carey

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 –

DelMarVa History

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 –

Handleys Eastern Shore Maryland Genealogy Project — You may also find this referenced as the DelMarVa Surnames Project.

If you need map information, use this link –

Till next time…

Doe Bridge – History Meets Destiny – Part 1 of 5

04-Sep-2212-Feb-12 by Ed Carey

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.”

Jerry Mule

29-Jul-1919-Jan-12 by Ed Carey

Our guest contributor today, is Ronald F. Dodd, of Georgetown.

Ronald Dodd, or “Ron”, as he is known to most of us, is from a very old Sussex County family, the origins of which go back to 1635, in colonial Eastern Shore Virginia. Part of his boyhood was spent at Dodd’s Pond (Morris Millpond north of Millsboro) where his father operated a water-powered flour mill until WWII. His deep love of Sussex County history becomes evident after only a short conversation. He can’t help it; it’s part of him, sinew and bone.