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<DIV>Dwight et al --</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Our history at Riversdale includes the Samuel B. Morse information -- I
have not concluded that the first message in fact was to the mansion, but to
"Riversdale," the plantation.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>At the time of the Morse telegraph experiment, C.B. owned 2200 acres
surrounding the mansion and there was a family station at (approximately) the
location of the eastside, open-sided brick building of today. (You can
see this feature drawn in on the Sides Map of 1853 that is displayed at
Riversdale as well as other buildings and topographic features that the
surveyor, William Sides, included.)</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I would conclude that the message transmission would have been to that
family station or just to an open spot at a telegraph pole erected at the
rail line. The gathering would have included C. B. and other
interested parties. (Of course, a temporary line and pole could have been
installed the short distance to the mansion if that was wanted as part of the
experiment).</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>C. B. (and his father before him) were part owners of the National Hotel in
Washington and C. B. spent significant time in the District as he pursued family
business matters. Being in the District and in the circle of the
movers and shakers, C.B. would have been one of the first to support and
encourage Morse so the references we have to his role in this experiment always
made sense to me.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Charles Benedict Calvert is recognized as the founder of the Maryland
Agricultural College, the predecessor to the University of Maryland. As a
show of his dedication to the college, he enrolled all of his sons as the first
students of that institution even though two of them were not old enough
yet to attend. He also made a significant donation of land/cash for
the location of the school and was seen, each day, riding on horseback to the
site to watch over the "work in progress" that was so close to his heart.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>C. B. was dedicated to the recognition of the American farmer and at
that time, there was no department of government recognizing and promoting
agriculture. While in Congress, C. B. drafted a resolution that was signed
by Abraham Lincoln that established the predecessor to the Department of
Agriculture. The Riversdale Society does have many other documents that
highlight the contributions Charles B. Calvert made to the field of
agriculture.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>More than you (probably) wanted to know, but hope you find this of
interest, Dwight. (As you can tell, I do).</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> Ann
Ferguson</DIV></FONT><DIV CLASS="aol_ad_footer" ID="3780a0932a0104f0fad63edab1249fc6"><br/><font style="color:black;font:normal 10pt arial,san-serif;"> <hr style="margin-top:10px"/><B>A Good Credit Score is 700 or Above. <A HREF=http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100126575x1221322931x1201367171/aol?redir=http://www.freecreditreport.com/pm/default.aspx?sc=668072%26hmpgID=115%26bcd=May5509AvgfooterNO115>See yours in just 2 easy steps!</A></B></font></DIV></BODY></HTML>