Cecil County Farm Museum breaks ground on new facilities

ELKTON — Shovels broke ground at the Cecil County Farm Museum and Regional Agricultural Center to prepare for construction of a building that will house public restrooms and a commercial kitchen.

The 24-by-42-foot building will take about six months to complete said Paul Palmer, president of Bay Country Associates, and the contractor for the project. It will be built where once stood a corn crib when the property at 820 Appleton Road in Elkton was a working farm.

Mel Bacon, executive director for CCFM, said the Upper Shore Regional Council and Cecil County Public Schools — including Superintendent Dr. Jeffrey Lawson — have been instrumental in bringing this project to reality.

“Dr. Lawson is trying to get the Cecil County Farm Museum on the field trip map,” Bacon said. “This is a big part of that.”

Just like North Bay and Fair Hill Nature Center are regular trips for students in certain grade levels each year, CCFM hopes to bring this agricultural resource into play. That means moving away from portable toilets and to larger, ADA compliant restrooms to handle field trips as well as public events.

The commercial kitchen would allow the museum to host education cooking and canning classes for example.

Construction on the $300,000 building started Monday. Bacon said the funding is a combination of private monies, and grants from the Maryland General Assembly and the Upper Shore Regional Council.