The Cresap Society exists to recognize the contributions of our common ancestor -- and his wife -- to the taming of the American Frontier. Thomas Cresap, his wife-- the former Hannah Johnson, and their children travelled on horseback from their home near Havre de Grace, Harford county, Maryland, to the untracked frontier of Western Maryland. There they settled, built a home and called the settlement Skipton, after Thomas' childhood home in Yorkshire, England. The town today is Old Town, Allegany County, Maryland. The site of that frontier cabin has been built over several times, but a corner of it is believed to be visible as part of the foundation of the National Park Service building which sits between the Potomac River and the C & O Canal at Old Town. On the other side of the canal is another Cresap home, which was once used as a jail. To these houses travelled every person, Caucasian or Indian, moving along the river. George Washington stopped here often on his travels; the Indians called Cresap "Big Spoon" in recognition of his plentiful hospitality.
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