Ladies Relief of the Free Summer Excursion Society manuscript collection

The Free Summer Excursion Society was founded in Baltimore, Maryland by John T. Ford in 1870. The charitable organization would coordinate trips out of the city for less-privileged residents. Each summer, women and their children were selected to participate in day trips to the countryside surrounding the city. The group focused on providing these excursions to families with sickly children would benefit from the fresh air. The Ladies Relief would walk the city’s neighborhoods giving out tickets to needy families.

In the early years of the group, the participants were taken to Hall’s Springs, located off of Harford Road. The Society would provide transportation, food, and a day of fun and relaxation. Richard D. Fisher leased a portion of his property on Bear Creek to the Society in 1880 for a penny a year. The area became known as “Chesterwood.” The F. C. Latrobe, a municipally owned steamboat, was rented by the Society to take the groups to the resort. The excursions ended when the F. C. Latrobe was taken out of commission. The organization could not afford to rent the replacement boat, and excursions to “Chesterwood” ended in 1959.