McElrath, DouglasFounded in 1839 in southern Maryland's Leonardtown, the St. Mary's Beacon chronicled the life a times of a small, remote community. Its reverie was shattered during the Civil War when Union troops occupied the town, but St. Mary's County soon returned to its quiet, conservative ways. The Beacon documented gradual change as the arrival of the railroad and steamboat helped connect the rural backwater to the outside world.en-USMaryland NewspapersOther