Saturday was the first warm and sunny day in months, and so I decided to take a spin down to Southern-ish Maryland and visit the graves of Dr. William Beanes, and his wife.
As I followed the GPS directions and entered the town of Upper Marlboro, I had to hunt a bit for the grave-site. It was up a hill with no path or steps, adjacent to the abandoned Upper Marlboro High School.
I made my way around to the back of the school where there was a path to the grave-site. It is now a small lot, on the site of the home he had shared with his wife. The house was known as Academy Hill, said to be one of the finest houses in the town. It overlooked the aptly named Schoolhouse Pond. Dr. and Mrs. Beanes lived in the house from 1779 to 1828.
Although the original house burned in 1855, it was re-built and opened as Upper Marlboro Academy. In 1836 the president of the Upper Marlboro Academy's Board of Trustees was authorized to purchase the Beanes’ property from a Mr. Roderick McGregor, for $1,360.
A Mr. Henry M. McGregor contracted to alter and add to the old William Beanes dwelling for use as an Academy. The building was completed and ready for pupils on January 1, 1837. The school building used prior to that date was sold to the Vestry of the Trinity Church.
A representative of the Academy Board of Trustees reported to the State General Assembly annually,3 and the State provided an annual fund to the Academy, enabling it to provide free education to some indigent students.
Tuition for most students was $20 per year in 1835, and $10 more for a mathematical education. The Academy admitted both boys and girls and in 1844 had 60 pupils, including some from Washington, D.C. and Baltimore.
There are four brick pillars around the graveyard, topped ironically with cannon balls, with two additional pillars at the entrance, all of which are connected with an ironwork fence.
The pillars have plaques on them, one dedicated by the Daughters of the War of 1812,
Additionally, there is the William Beanes Elementary School and the adjacent William Beanes Community Center.
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