About four miles west of Rock Hall, MD on Rt. 20 is a little community called Edesville. Not a town really but more of a damp spot in the road. After all Rock Hall itself only has a couple of thousand souls. Mostly watermen or commercial fishermen over the years, but more and more the place for summer homes for those from the bigger cities from New York to Washington. The sailing crowd has taken over as the day of the waterman has steadily declined over the last hundred years. I guess I qualify as one of those outlanders as my father bought his first place in the mid fifties in another section of the town called "Gratitude". Not a town either, but rather a street, the name of which is Lawton Avenue, but known far and wide as "Gratitude". This link will give you an idea as to the genesis of the name of that community.
http://rockhallwave.com/2010/09/21/world-gratitude-day-celebrated-at-gratitude-landing/
But other than the churches in Edesville, the center of activity, on the dark side as it were, was "Belle's Place". A simple one room type of bar. Always a few locals standing outside when one would pass by. A black bar known to the white roughnecks of the area as a place which was probably a pretty good idea to avoid. Oh, some would try and find the welcome mat was located at the back door out of which they would be thrown. Don't know much about the history of the place, but I was always enchanted by the look as I passed through town.
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