Join the Odenton Heritage Society as we participate again in Maryland Day Weekend 2025!

Visit us on Sunday, March 23 from 1PM-4PM. Our special display for the day is called “Women in Wartime: Odenton’s Military and Civilian Heroines.”

During wartime, women shifted from less active roles to taking on more dynamic responsibilities, both in military service and on the home front. Our display will highlight examples of Odenton residents who contributed in these ways during both World War I and World War II.

During World War I, Carmen Murray served in the Navy’s Yeoman-F, the women’s branch of the service. To learn more about Yeoman-F, visit this resource from the National Archives.

On the home front during this time, Odenton played a vital role as well. The first congregation at Epiphany Chapel comprised wives of Army officers stationed at Camp Meade, while Salvation Army workers staffed two buildings in Odenton to support Army personnel and their families.

During World War II, Red Moon McPherson, a Native American woman, served in the Marines, while Pauline Brown escorted a trainload of Women’s Army Corps (WAC) members to Fort Meade and later made Odenton her home.

On the home front during this time, women in Odenton also played critical roles. Maybelle Lewis served as state treasurer of the American Legion Auxiliary, Margaret Shoemaker supervised food rationing efforts in Odenton and inspected local stores for compliance, and Margaret Crawford worked in the Fort Meade Transportation Office, which scheduled troop trains and coordinated schedules with the Pennsylvania and Baltimore & Ohio Railroads.

The Odenton Heritage Society Historical Center and Museum is located at 1367 Odenton Road. Costumed docents will provide a fun and engaging museum tour experience where visitors will have an opportunity to ask questions. Admission and tours are free. We hope to see you there!

Maryland Day Weekend is a unique heritage based group of events held in Annapolis, southern Anne Arundel County, and select communities in the western and northern parts of the county, including Odenton.
https://www.marylandday.org/

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