"JACOBS LADDER 1898-190?"

"Jacobs Ladder" Ward Abrahams Collection

For a short period in time Jacobs Ladder's Home was in Port Deposit Maryland.  Climbing the steep Granite sheer in the south end of the town were 365 steps leading from Main street to the Jacob Tome Institute approximately 213 plus feet above. They were made of wood and primarily provided the worker building the school access from the town below. They were never meant as permanent structure and to that destiny the steps came to and end when some students of newly occupied school some decade later starting rolling manhole  covers from the hill to the street below. Wisely is was decided that this prank may never end and that disaster was only several seconds down the hill. They were replaced by the granite winding Steps called "The Trail" or "Tome's Trail". This particular set of steps started on main street and wound up at the Institutes Directors home on the bluff above, although never written most believed that this new view that the Director's home offered stopped forever the ritual of manhole cover rolling.

"The Trial" or "Tomes  Trail" circa 2004

In the picture above straight run of steps is Jacobs Ladder the trail off to the right was eventually replaced with stone steps and called "The Trail":