Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Ghost Walls: The Story of a 17th-Century Colonial Homestead
    Ghost Walls: The Story of a 17th-Century Colonial Homestead
    Ghost Walls: The Story of a 17th-Century Colonial Homestead
    Ebook138 pages1 hour

    Ghost Walls: The Story of a 17th-Century Colonial Homestead

    By Sally M. Walker

    5/5

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    In 1638, John Lewger made a home in the wilderness of the New World, in a place called Maryland. He named his house St. John's, and for nearly eighty years, it was the center of an ambitious English plan to build a new kind of community on American soil. Men and women lived and worked within its walls. Babies were born. Last breaths drawn. St. John's walls witnessed the first stirrings of the great struggles that would dominate the continent for the next three centuries: The unimaginable wealth of the New World's crops and natural resources. The promise of religious tolerance under a new model of government. The injustice of slavery. The betrayal of native peoples. The struggle for equality between men and women. If St. John's walls could have talked, they would have spoken volumes of American history.

    And then the walls crumbled. One hundred years after it was built, St. John's House had been abandoned. The buildings slowly deteriorated, returning to the Maryland soil to be plowed under by generations of Maryland farmers. St. John's walls were silent for more than two centuries, little more than ghosts haunting the historical and archeological records.

    But they weren't lost. Not entirely.

    Award-winning author Sally M. Walker tells the story of how teams of scientists and historians managed to hear the ghostly echoes of St. John's House and, over the course of decades of painstaking work, made them speak their stories again.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherLerner Publishing
    Release dateOct 1, 2014
    ISBN9781467772693
    Ghost Walls: The Story of a 17th-Century Colonial Homestead
    Author

    Sally M. Walker

    Sally M. Walker has been a children's book writer for over 20 years. Most of her books are nonfiction and present various science topics to young readers. Fossil Fish Found Alive is the story of the hunt for the elusive fish called the coelacanth. Sally also enjoys combining science investigation with historical topics. Her book Secrets of a Civil War Submarine, which won the 2006 Robert F. Sibert Medal, tells about the history, loss, and re-discovery of the first submarine to sink an enemy ship in battle. Written in Bone: Buried Lives of Jamestown and Colonial Maryland takes readers on archaeological expeditions, where the forensic analysis of colonial settlers' bones helps us to understand their lives. Sally especially enjoys writing narrative nonfiction that captures the reader's attention with a true story. She is also the author of 2019 Orbis Pictus Honor Book Champion: The Comeback Tale of the American Chestnut.

    Read more from Sally M. Walker

    Related to Ghost Walls

    Related ebooks

    Children's Historical For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Helicopter parent

      Dec 20, 2021

      Helicopter parent
      11 min read

    • Article

      Are You Lonesome Tonight?

      Aug 8, 2019

      Are You Lonesome Tonight?
      6 min read

    • Article

      After 20 Years, Stephen Chbosky Has Rekindled His Love for Writing Novels

      Oct 24, 2019

      He faced the question, “How does one deal with fear?” The book, he says, answers: “We can swallow our fear or let our fear swallow us.” The post After 20 Years, Stephen Chbosky Has Rekindled His Love for Writing Novels appeared first on The Millions.

      3 min read

    • Article

      The Volcano That Shrouded the Earth and Gave Birth to a Monster

      Oct 5, 2017

      Two hundred years ago, the greatest eruption in Earth’s recorded history took place. Mount Tambora—located on Sumbawa Island in the East Indies—blew itself up with apocalyptic force in April 1815. After perhaps 1,000 years’ dormancy, the devastating

      18 min read

    • Article

      Brae Hap

      Jul 23, 2020

      Brae Hap
      7 min read

    • Article

      Terror In The Antarctic: Graphic Novels Revisit The Horror Of The ‘Worst Journey In The World’

      Dec 4, 2022

      On 27 June 1911, three men set off on a polar trip that was to earn itself a remarkable reputation. Their midwinter Antarctic expedition became known, quite simply, as the worst journey in the world. Henry “Birdie” Bowers, Apsley Cherry-Garrard and B

      5 min read

    • Article

      The Hard Yards

      Jun 22, 2022

      The Hard Yards
      7 min read

    • Article

      Upcoming Contests And Submission Windows

      Oct 11, 2023

      INSPIRED to submit your manuscript to a small press? These twelve university presses, nonprofits, and other extraordinary indies have general reading periods or contest deadlines this autumn and winter. Count on these presses to boast enthusiastic st

      5 min read

    • Article

      Walking Into New Worlds

      Aug 13, 2020

      Walking Into New Worlds
      10 min read

    • Article

      Prisoners On The Plains

      Oct 17, 2023

      Prisoners On The Plains
      5 min read

    • Article

      In Ruins

      Oct 21, 2020

      In Ruins
      23 min read

    • Article

      Origin Stories

      Sep 1, 2023

      Origin Stories
      20 min read

    • Article

      Secret Society

      Mar 30, 2023

      Secret Society
      5 min read

    • Article

      Black Cowboy Archaeologist

      Dec 21, 2021

      Black Cowboy Archaeologist
      4 min read

    • Article

      Getting a Handle

      Sep 25, 2019

      Getting a Handle
      4 min read

    • Article

      Dear Paul

      May 14, 2021

      Dear Paul
      9 min read

    • Article

      Buried histories

      Oct 4, 2022

      Buried histories
      14 min read

    • Article

      A Walk Among The Ancients

      Mar 2, 2021

      A Walk Among The Ancients
      6 min read

    • Article

      Archæology

      Dec 1, 2022

      Archæology
      6 min read

    • Article

      58 Bodies

      Aug 15, 2023

      58 Bodies
      12 min read

    • Article

      Digging Bourbon

      Jun 13, 2023

      Digging Bourbon
      5 min read

    • Article

      The Prayerstone Hypothesis

      Jun 13, 2019

      The Prayerstone Hypothesis
      7 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Ghost Walls

    5/5

    2 ratings2 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      Ghost Walls: The Story of a 17th Century Colonial Homestead
      by Sally M. Walker

      Thank you Lerner Publishing Group, Carolrhoda Books and Netgalley.com for the opportunity to preview this book.

      This 84 page children's book , Ghost Walls, is a fact-studded history of the colonial home of the John Lewger family of St. Mary's City, Maryland. The home was built in 1638 near the St. Mary's River; a 100 mile boat trip from the only other settlement, Jamestown, VA.

      The book is much more than a children's book; it is a primer for anyone interested in colonial (Maryland) history and politics, archaeology, religious strife, racial and gender roles, and native American relations. There is not a wasted word and the book is chock full of fascinating graphics and photographs. The author has done a superb job of bringing the construction, abandonment and resurrection of this homestead to the reader. The archaeological site is now preserved within a uniquely constructed museum.

      Intensive research into the various owners of the property over the life-time of the house provides a captivating snapshot of the individuals themselves. The photographs of some of the unearthed artifacts bring the people alive in your mind; you can practically smell the tobacco burning in the pipes at the town meetings.

      I would highly recommend it for libraries in the mid-Atlantic states and specially for Maryland and Virginia.
    • 5/5
      OCT - First off, this isn't about ghosts, hauntings or anything of that nature. I'm fascinated by what a riveting, fast-paced, interesting non-fiction history book this is. Ms. Walker has an excellent storyteller's voice and writes as if she is with the reader telling you first hand a fascinating story she is enthusiastic about. Peppered densely with quotes from contemporary sources such as letters, diaries and court records this book is a history lover's dream. To start off with the topic was only of general interest to me. My interests in archaeology, architecture and early settlers pointed me towards this book but main interests lie in the early 19th century, while this book tells us the history of 17th century Maryland. A topic I never thought I'd be so enchanted by, the author's skill in research and obvious love for her topic make the reader join her enthusiasm. While the book is recommended for Gr. 4-8 by the publisher, I honestly would not hesitate to say the writing style is mature enough for any teen or adult to thoroughly enjoy. I've added St. John's House to my "list of places to visit someday" and am checking the library for more of Sally M. Walker's books.

    Book preview

    Ghost Walls - Sally M. Walker

    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1