About this Sacred Place
Looking for new opportunities to counsel and support at-risk youth, JAVA has partnered with several community and civic organizations to envision and create a new town square at the centrally located courtyard of the Cecil County Courthouse. As an alternative to being assigned to the detention system, JAVA clients perform community service in the garden while learning new skills and working alongside a host of community groups from the Cecil County Arts Council to the Elkton Business Council to local Master Gardeners. As the clients grow in their capacities and contributions to Elkton, so does Elkton’s commitment to sustaining an inclusive society, welcoming of all who demonstrate a commitment to bettering themselves, each other and their community.
As with all town squares, Unity Square serves its visitors in many ways whether by providing a quiet space for reflection during stressful court appearances and commemorative events or through the multitude of joyous arts and entertainment events, wedding celebrations and holiday parades. The site is surrounded by a mosaic mural wall, created by a local artist who had a special connection to the space, before it became a Sacred Place. The site also features a central pergola, various native plantings and a large tree sculpture, gifted by a local blacksmith as an homage to his now passed mentor who was also a well-known local blacksmith and community member.
