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Ice Cream Platter & Serving Knife, Montgomery County

From the USS Maryland Silver Service

Game platter, Frederick County

Maker: Samuel Kirk & Sons (1815-1979)
Objects: Ice Cream Platter and Serving Knife, Montgomery County
Date: 1906
Medium: Sterling Silver
Dimensions: Platter: Overall height, 1 1/8", Overall width, 15 1/2", Overall depth: 9”
Dimensions: Knife: Overall length, 11 1/8"; Overall width, 3 1/2"
Accession number(s): MSA SC 1545-0918-1 and MSA SC 1545-0918-2

This ice cream platter represents Montgomery County, which was created by the Maryland Constitution of 1776 and named for General Richard Montgomery who was killed in the invasion of Quebec in 1775. The right side of the platter is decorated with cherries and strawberries, while the left side is decorated with wheat sprays, pumpkins, beets and eggplant. Sprays of oak, chestnut and hemlock surround the Great Seal and the Cruiser.

The handle of the knife is formed from a reproduction of a “crownstone” marker of the Mason-Dixon Line. These large limestone markers were placed every five miles along the Mason-Dixon Line and were decorated with the coats-of-arms of Maryland and Pennsylvania.

Scenes across the top (left to right):
1. (number 119)
Greenwood is a historic home outside of Brookeville. Initially constructed in 1721, the residence represents an evolution of construction from the early 1700s until the mid 1800s, as each generation added on to and modified the main house. For much of the 19th century, Greenwood was one of the largest plantations in Montgomery County, and approximately 100 people were enslaved by the Davis family.

Greenwood
Greenwood
2. Great Seal of Maryland
3. (number 117)
The Cabin John Bridge was the longest stone masonry arch in the world until 1903. Made of granite and sandstone, the main arch of the bridge has a span of 220 feet and stands 57 feet above the ground. Also known as the “Union Arch Bridge”, it was designated as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers in 1972 and was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. Both designations refer to the bridge as the "Cabin John Aqueduct."

Cabin John Bridge
Cabin John Bridge

Scenes across the bottom (right to left)
1. (number 118)
The Brookeville Academy was established in 1808 and chartered by the state of Maryland in 1815. Construction on the building began in 1810 and a second story was added in 1840. It operated as an academy until 1869, when the school outgrew the building. Today it serves as a community center for the town of Brookeville.

Brookeville Academy
Brookeville Academy

2. USS Maryland Cruiser
3. (number 120)
It is believed that the name, "Clean Drinking Manor " was the result of a surveyor who encountered a spring and named the track of land after it. The first house on the property was built in 1686 but it would be torn down and several different houses would be built on the land over the centuries. The last Clean Drinking Manor, featured on the ice cream platter, was constructed in 1872, but was torn down in 1930.

“Clean Drinking” Manor
“Clean Drinking” Manor

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