Mackinson's Restaurant in Marshallton

Mackinson's Restaurant

Over the years I've used many, many words on this blog (admittedly, sometimes too many), but one that I'd wager has been used infrequently is "restaurant" (and not just because I can't spell it). This is because (and I'm not a trained historian, but it seems to me that) restaurants as we think of them today didn't often exist outside of cities and towns prior to the 20th Century. Yes, there were plenty of taverns and inns where you could go and get a meal, but the food was secondary to other pursuits and functions (like sleep and drink). However, in the second decade of the "American Century" an actual restaurant did open in the small, mill village of Marshallton, with a story that still leaves me with as many questions as answers.

The venture seems to have begun in 1917 with Isaac "Ike" Mackinson, Jr., a native of North East, MD. His father, Isaac, Sr., grew up in York County, PA, the son of an iron worker. Isaac moved to Maryland in the 1860's to do the same, but by the mid-1880's was running a saloon in North East. Isaac ran into more than a few problems in the small, Maryland town, mostly of his own doing. He was cited numerous times, and even jailed, for violating the local option law (regulating liquor sales), and also got himself into several altercations (once he beat up a reporter).

(The name is variously spelled "Mackison" or "Mackinson" -- Isaac seemed to prefer the former, while his son usually went by the later. I was told by a descendent that "Mackinson" was the "correct" spelling, so that's what I'll use.)