Updates, preservation efforts, and development plans specific to the historic Tome School property
The BDC would like to express our greatest thanks to everyone who made the Tome School tours this summer a smashing success! We hosted almost 150 individuals through various tours, with a variety of folks participating from young history buffs for former NAPS officers! Thank you again for your continued support of Tome School and helping to keep it’s memory alive.
The final summer tour for the Tome School will be held on Saturday August 22 at 10AM.
If you would like to attend, please sign-up using this link
or email Toni Lozzi at tlozzi@bainbridgedev.org .
Participants are asked to wear closed-toe walking shoes as we will be on and off of the bus and walking the grounds. Photography is allowed.
All participants must sign a copy of the BDC liability waiver and Tome policies. You can access these below, or copies will be available the day of.
The next tour of the National Historic Tome School for Boys will take place on Sunday July 26th at 10AM. Unfortuantely, due to scheduling issues, we cannot offer the 1PM tour this day. We will be holding more tours in August, September and October. If you would like to participate in the July tour, please sign up using the link below. You can also contact Toni Lozzi, BDC Project Coordinator, at tlozzi@bainbridgedev.org or 410-378-9200. All participants must have a signed copy of our liability waiver and policies and procedures. Both are linked below, if you have issues printing or accessing them, extras will be provided the day of!
WAIVER
POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
BY Erika Quesenberry Sturgill, CECIL WHIG
“PORT DEPOSIT — As time passes, the story of what was originally known as the Jacob Tome Institute of Port Deposit, which grew to add the now defunct Tome School for Boys and later became The Tome School in North East, has become cloudy and overlapped…”
The BDC is excited to announce that we will be hosting tours of the Tome School each month of the summer. The tour will be bused back with several stops and options to get off of the bus and walk the Tome campus. Our first date is Saturday May 23, 2015. The times provided are 10AM and 1PM. We ask everyone arrive 15-20 minutes before departure to ensure enough time to process paperwork. Everyone participating must provide a signed waiver and signed copy of our policies. Both are provided below. Minors MUST have them signed by their parents. Anyone who cannot furnish the paperwork will not be allowed on the tour. Due to number limits on the bus, we ask that you us the link below to RSVP if you plan to attend the tour. If we reach capacity, we will have to use a first come first served preference. Any questions can be directed to Toni Lozzi at 410-378-9200 or TLOZZI@bainbridgedev.org.
BDC Address: 748 Jacob Tome Highway Port Deposit, MD 21904
SIGN UP LINK:
Documents that MUST be signed for participation:
ADDITIONAL PLANNED DATES:
June 14, July 25, August 22, September 12, October 10
“We are still actively working with the State Fire Marshall’s Office on their investigation of the fire at Memorial Hall. We cannot comment on the investigation at this time but when there is a public update available, we will certainly provide that right away.
We are also working with the Deputy Fire Marshall and the Cecil County Sheriff’s Office to find the best solution for the ongoing security issues at Bainbridge.
We recently completed our semi-annual operations and maintenance inspection at the property. The report came back quite favorable. The only requested repairs to be made, are to the breaches in the fencing along 276. We have been focusing our property maintenance efforts on repairing the breaches along the entire property line and have made excellent progress in the past two months. Inspections are performed following the repairs and then we proceed to check the breaches to see if they are staying closed. We are very pleased to report that the repairs are holding and we are now working on closures along 276.
While Memorial Hall is something of great importance to the Town of Port Deposit, Cecil County and the BDC, we unfortunately do not have an update to provide at this time. We are still evaluating options for moving forward.”
-Provided by Toni Lozzi, Project Coordinator
BY: Jane Bellmyer, Cecil Whig (click for full story)
“PORT DEPOSIT — The fire that destroyed Memorial Hall at the Tome School for Boys could be a wake-up call to secure unoccupied properties in town.
The September fire ripped through what was left of the historic structure on the hill above Port Deposit. It’s on the mind of Donald Hancock, the town code enforcement officer.
The September fire ripped through what was left of the historic structure on the hill above Port Deposit. It’s on the mind of Donald Hancock, the town code enforcement officer.
“In light of the events at Memorial Hall, I am interested in the houses with large amounts of scrap materials and flammable materials,” Hancock recently told the mayor and town council.
Hancock expressed his fears to the elected body that a fire in the compact waterfront community would be tragic.
“The damage would be worse,” he said, comparing a potential downtown fire to what happened at the former military site.
“Restricting access to these properties is important. Vacant properties with all the doors and windows open is rife with possibility,” he said.
He fears they could be targets of vandalism, so Hancock is ramping up his efforts to get these property owners to respond.
“I’ve had a lot of promises, but few have been acted upon,” he said of the owners, many of which don’t live in town. “We want these closed up immediately.”
Port Deposit’s elected body has struggled for a number of years to come up with a way to manage apathetic property owners. Since being hired, Hancock has developed an inventory of all structures in town limits, identifying those that have issues, are historic and are simply old.
Hancock said that since being nice hasn’t helped his cause, his next step will be to issue citations and levy fines.
“How do we pursue that?” Councilman Tom Knight asked.
A meeting with Joe Herring, town attorney, will be the first step, Hancock said.
“I’ll be talking with Mr. Herring about pursuing a few of these in court,” he said.
Vicki Rinkerman, town administrator, added this was the perfect opportunity for Port Deposit to update its uniform citations, which hadn’t been done in more than 30 years.
“We’re looking at the codification revision,” Rinkerman said. “In the meantime, we can pursue it civilly.”
“PORT DEPOSIT — Bainbridge Development Corporation Chairman Michael R. Pugh said his board expects to see a final report on the damages and recommendations for the future of Memorial Hall in January or February.
Pugh called the Sept. 21 blaze that gutted the three-story historical building a “tragedy” during a BDC meeting on Monday night.
“It has complicated an already complicated issue,” Pugh said.
BDC members and Executive Director Donna Tapley were kept off the grounds until the Maryland State Fire Marshall’s Office completed their investigation in October, in which they ruled the fire an arson.
“The fire investigation delayed the assessment process for the BDC,” Pugh said, “But some progress has been made.”
One question they are trying to answer is whether the remaining building is salvageable, Pugh said.
A structural assessment of Memorial Hall has been completed, but Tapley still has to meet with the Maryland Historical Trust to determine short-term recommendations and they will need cost estimates.
“The cupola is gone, the roof collapsed, masonry walls are damaged and braced now and will get worse without some stop-gap measures,” Tapley said.
A draft report determined the building is at-risk by any unauthorized entrance and those who enter could be subject to injuries. The report recommends closing the building off.
Tapley said the entire 1,200 acre site has been fenced off for years, but people continue to get in without authorization.
“We plan to reveal all the findings and recommended next steps as soon as we get the final report,” Tapley said on Monday night.
Meanwhile, the turtle pace of the BDC’s negotiations with the U.S. Navy over the cleanup costs of current soil contamination found at Bainbridge in 2008 may be reaching a turning point in the next three months.
The Navy signed a deed of trust transferring the 1,200 acres to the BDC in February of 2000, deeming it suitable for transfer without development restrictions.
“We remain open to find another way to solve our problems,” Pugh said, indicating the BDC and the Navy are in the middle of a process right now that may yield some results in the first quarter of 2015.
“We expect a resolution of value of the site and damage to it,” he said, adding, “Then we’ll decide what direction to go,” leaving the door open to future litigation with the Navy.
In other business, by acclamation, the board re-elected Pugh to serve as chairman, Lisa Webb as vice chairman, Raymond “Chick” Hamm as treasurer and Cynthia Rossetti as assistant secretary.
Erin Maloney, a federal lobbyist who lives in Harford County, attended the BDC meeting Monday night. She suggested the BDC might be eligible for an EPA exemption because the property was once owned by the federal government.
“It could help you negotiate for a state exemption,” Maloney said.
Pugh said there remain other concerns.
“Even though this could be a loop hole, we also have the issue of public health concerns,” Pugh said.
In response, Maloney said: “I still think there is a possibility.”
A reward up to $10,000 is being offered for the information that leads to the arrest and indictment of the person responsible for the fire that occured at the former Tome School Memorial Hall located on the Bainbridge Development Corporation Property in Port Deposit, MD on Septemebr 21, 2014. Anyone with informattion about this fire is urged to call the ATF. Your identiy will remaind confidentail. You can call 24 hours a day.
1-888-ATF-FIRE
Cecil Whig
PORT DEPOSIT — The Bainbridge Development Corporation is offering a reward of up to $10,000 in hopes of identifying and charging the person or people responsible for torching the vacant Tome School Memorial Hall in September, according to officials.
The early-morning blaze on Sept. 21 gutted the three-story building, which, with its clock tower and other ornate features, served as a landmark on that Bainbridge property.
People with tips can make them anonymously through the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Agency (ATF) arson hotline at 1-888-ATF-FIRE, according to Toni Lozzi, the BDC’s project coordinator.
Lozzi reported that there is a “quick turnaround” when people with information call the ATF arson hotline.
“Someone is manning that line 24 hours a day. It goes directly to someone; you’re not just leaving a message. It’s all confidential,” Lozzi said Monday morning, adding that all tips are then immediately relayed to investigators.
The BDC, which oversees development on the Bainbridge property, is offering the reward from its own coffers as part of a continuing multi-agency effort to solve the arson case, Lozzi reported.
“The BDC has been working very closely with the (The Maryland State Fire Marshal’s Office) on the arson investigation of Memorial Hall. We have decided, through the ATF Fire Investigation Hotline, to offer a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest and indictment of whoever is responsible for the fire,” Lozzi explained. “The BDC remains strong in our commitment to Tome School and we hope this will bring about pertinent and helpful information to aid in the investigation.”
As part of that campaign, the BDC is circulating reward posters bearing photos of the charred building and information on how to place an anonymous tip.
Investigators ruled the blaze an arson shortly after the fire.
“Investigators determined a person or persons gained entry and intentionally ignited the interior of the school. An estimated damage in loss could not be determined, due to the structure being a historic landmark,” Senior Deputy State Fire Marshal Oliver J. Alkire reported at the time.
Deputy State Fire Marshal Derek A. Chapman, lead investigator, said detectives are hopeful that the reward offer will spark tips through the ATF hotline.
Wanting to preserve the integrity of the ongoing arson investigation, Chapman declined to discuss leads in the case, commenting, “There’s nothing that I want to put out there right now.”
While the ATF arson hotline is an option for tipsters and could lead to a reward, people also can leave information that might help investigators by calling the MSFO’s Northeast Regional Office at 410-838-4844 or the Arson Hotline at 1-800-492-7529.
Also, detectives are still seeking photographs of the building before, during and after the fire. Photographs may be emailed to msp.osfmnero@maryland.gov.
The first alarm came about 2:45 a.m. on Sept. 21, after a passerby saw the flames and called 9-1-1, fire officials said. Approximately 35 firefighters with volunteer fire companies from Port Deposit, Perryville, Rising Sun and North East, as well as Harford County and southern Pennsylvania, responded to the scene, fire officials added. No one was injured.
Crews on numerous tankers drafted water from the Town of Port Deposit water supply and shuttled it to the burning building, which stands on a bluff overlooking the Susquehanna River and the town.
It took firefighters about three hours to bring the blaze under control, fire officials said. However, fires continued to burn inside the “extensively damaged” building for about a week after the initial blaze and, as a result, sections of the structure collapsed, according to Alkire.
The blaze consumed the vacant, 50-foot-by-100-foot, stone and mortar building, which is rich in history, fire officials reported. That building did not have utilities, which is the case with the other vacant structures on that property, fire officials reported.
The building was originally constructed in 1901 as the Tome School for Boys and later the property was operated as the U.S. Naval Training Center Bainbridge, from 1942 to 1976. It was officially closed for Department of the Navy use in 1986. Some of the facilities were then operated by the U.S. Department of Labor as a Job Corps Center until 1990. The property now falls under the Bainbridge Development Corporation for renovations.
At one time, the Old Tome School Building was the centerpiece building on the campus of Tome School for Boys — a prep school with a list of distinguished graduates that includes R.J. Reyolds, Jr., son of the cigarette mogul, and members of Mellon and Carnegie families.
The school, which became part of the Bainbridge Naval Center, now lays in disrepair.
But even so, the dilapidated granite buildings dotting what was once a thriving campus still appear stately, reflecting the bold design of William A. Boring and Edwin L. Tilton, the same New York-based architects whose long list of projects includes the U.S. Immigration Station on Ellis Island.
