Elk Landing
Encyclopedia
Elk Landing is the name of a historic home located at Elkton
, Cecil County
, Maryland
. The house at Elk Landing was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1984.
It is a two story, fieldstone
dwelling, three bays wide by two bays
deep, with a gable
roof dating to about 1780. Its interior features a corner fireplace in its northeast corner as well as a full basement. Interior doors and chair rail moldings in most of the rooms may also be original to the house.
The property on which the house is located was part of an early settlement of Swedish and Finnish immigrants. The Swedes and Finns had established an early trading post
at this site. Elk Landing was the home, trading post and base of operations of the Swedish-American trader, John Hansson Steelman (1655–1749) who occupied the site between 1693 and 1710.
The site of Elk Landing is significant for its association with trade between the Scandinavian settlers and the Susquehannock
, as well as with the history of early Swedish settlement in Maryland. Elk Landing was also the site of the arrival of the first three priests who landed on June 24, 1697 to renew the work of the Church of Sweden
started in the New Sweden
colony.
Elkton, Maryland
The town of Elkton is the county seat of Cecil County, Maryland, United States. The population was 11,893 as of the 2000 census and 14,842 according to current July 2008 census estimates. It is the county seat of Cecil County...
, Cecil County
Cecil County, Maryland
Cecil County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. It is part of the Delaware Valley. It was named for Cæcilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore , who was the first Proprietary Governor of the colony of Maryland from 1632 until his death in 1675. The county seat is Elkton. The newspaper...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
. The house at Elk Landing was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places listings in Cecil County, Maryland
This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Cecil County, Maryland.This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Cecil County, Maryland, United States...
in 1984.
It is a two story, fieldstone
Fieldstone
Fieldstone is a building construction material. Strictly speaking, it is stone collected from the surface of fields where it occurs naturally...
dwelling, three bays wide by two bays
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
deep, with a gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
roof dating to about 1780. Its interior features a corner fireplace in its northeast corner as well as a full basement. Interior doors and chair rail moldings in most of the rooms may also be original to the house.
The property on which the house is located was part of an early settlement of Swedish and Finnish immigrants. The Swedes and Finns had established an early trading post
Trading post
A trading post was a place or establishment in historic Northern America where the trading of goods took place. The preferred travel route to a trading post or between trading posts, was known as a trade route....
at this site. Elk Landing was the home, trading post and base of operations of the Swedish-American trader, John Hansson Steelman (1655–1749) who occupied the site between 1693 and 1710.
The site of Elk Landing is significant for its association with trade between the Scandinavian settlers and the Susquehannock
Susquehannock
The Susquehannock people were Iroquoian-speaking Native Americans who lived in areas adjacent to the Susquehanna River and its tributaries from the southern part of what is now New York, through Pennsylvania, to the mouth of the Susquehanna in Maryland at the north end of the Chesapeake Bay...
, as well as with the history of early Swedish settlement in Maryland. Elk Landing was also the site of the arrival of the first three priests who landed on June 24, 1697 to renew the work of the Church of Sweden
Church of Sweden
The Church of Sweden is the largest Christian church in Sweden. The church professes the Lutheran faith and is a member of the Porvoo Communion. With 6,589,769 baptized members, it is the largest Lutheran church in the world, although combined, there are more Lutherans in the member churches of...
started in the New Sweden
New Sweden
New Sweden was a Swedish colony along the Delaware River on the Mid-Atlantic coast of North America from 1638 to 1655. Fort Christina, now in Wilmington, Delaware, was the first settlement. New Sweden included parts of the present-day American states of Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania....
colony.