Saturday, February 20, 2010

Where in Bowie? #4 - Answer revealed

In a previous post, I asked where this picture was taken in Bowie.




This was the most challenging Where in Bowie post yet. The first three featured pictures in common locations in Bowie. This spot is a little off the beaten path for most people. As a result, Bowie Living didn't receive any guesses at all.

This Where in Bowie picture features a 1930s to 1950s era F.E. Myers well water pump located on the property of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church off Annapolis Road in Bowie. The pump sits in the woods to the right of the road leading around the church. It's more easily seen with the snow on the ground, but I first spotted it back in January before Bowie received the recent series of snowstorms.

My daughter was the only person who could correctly identify the location. I spoke with a few people who pass by the pump on a regular basis, and they never realized the pump was there.



The pump is located about 25 feet from the road.




The pump is visible just off the road leading around the church.




Another view of the road leading into the church. The top of the pump is visible over the snowbank. The Rectory can be seen on the hill to the left.




A closer look at the pump. It says:
MYERS
SELF-OILING
WORKING HEAD
8 IN. STROKE
PATENTED




A closer view of the Rectory.




The Chapel




A view of the historic cemetery at the church. According to the church's history page on its Web site:

Names prominent in the history of Prince George's County and the Bowie area in particular are readily found in the records of Holy Trinity Church and our cemetery: Ridgley, Lancaster, Duckett, Hall, Belt, Addison, Claggett, Lansdale, Bowie, Tasker, Darnell, Ogle, and many others.




A sign provides some of the history of the church. Mareen Duvall's well known descendants include President Barack Obama, President Harry S. Truman, Vice-President Dick Cheney and billionaire investor Warren Buffett. A future post will include more information about Mareen Duvall.

5 comments:

  1. One of my aunts is related to the Duvalls. I guess a lot of other people are too!

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  2. I am so pathetic! My kids attended Holy Trinity for years and my son is still a Scout there! I knew that looked familiar but totally couldn't place it!! Guess the snow has gotten to my brain :-)

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  3. Cyndy, The Duvalls have a lot of history in Maryland going back hundreds of years. I've been meaning to post more about that.

    Val, my wife drives by that spot every weekday, and she never noticed it, but my daughter did. I just happened to look over there one day in January, and I saw it for the first time. At about the same time, I had been thinking about posting a harder Where in Bowie post, and thought that would be a good opportunity to talk about some local history.

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  4. Anyone know if this belongs to the church, or a private owner ? Has anyone laid claim to it? (I attended Bowie High 1966 - 1970. Descedendant of Duckett's.)

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  5. Anyone know if this belongs to the church, or a private owner ? Has anyone laid claim to it? (I attended Bowie High 1966 - 1970. Descedendant of Duckett's.)jrbaldwin52@gmail.com

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