An interesting and unique historical landmark, just a few minutes from RT 4 in Saint Leonard, Md.
This polling house was built in 1926 and residents voted here until 1974. The Garden of Remembrance honors all those held dear in the hearts of area residents. It also honors First Ladies Mrs. John Quincy Adams and Mrs. Zachary Taylor, who were related by birth or family ties to St. Leonard.
Calvert County has, remarkably, retained four of its historic polling houses - Utilitarian in nature, these one-room structures served the county from the late 19th through the mid-20th century. Most had two doors so that voters could move easily in one door, cast their vote, and exit out the other.
These structures have an important story to tell as the center of civic life. "These polling houses weren't segregated - Calvert County's black and white residents cast their votes together here. Following school integration in the 1960s, the polling houses were abandoned and voting often took place in schools." Oral histories document that these sites served as important centers of social as well as political activity, with oysters, crabcakes, and fried chicken being sold to hungry voters here on election day.
Although the way in which we cast our vote may have changed, our responsibility has not. As you make your way to the polls this Election Day, remember the story of these humble landmarks....and then go get a crabcake!
Location. 38° 28.266′ N, 76° 30.285′ W. Marker is in Saint Leonard, Maryland, in Calvert County. Marker is on St. Leonard Road (Maryland Route 765) 0.1 miles south of Calvert Beach Road, on the right when traveling south. read more