[6] In 1893, the Lancaster, Cecil, & Southern Railroad opened a 4+1⁄2-mile spur from Childs to Providence, this road bringing freight rail service to a cluster of manufacturers on the Little Elk Creek.

In May 1972, the B & O, which had acquired the line many years earlier, gave notice that it was completely abandoning the branch, which had seen declining service for decades as industries along the creek closed.

It was purchased by Elk Paper Manufacturing Company of Childs, the new owner donating part of the tract to the Oblate Sisters of Mt.

A swath of almost impenetrable fog had settled in this stretch of the John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway where it crosses the Little Elk Creek at Childs.

As cars hit the dense fog, drivers slammed on the brakes, triggering a chain reaction as 20 vehicles quickly piled up.

[17] The young novitiates and seminarians were so moved by their experience as they waited for rescue units to make their way through the dense autumn fog that they erected a shrine in 1973, dedicating it to the memory of three people who died in the accident.

[18][19] American songwriter Zoe Mulford released a 2006 CD, "Roadside Saints," which contains a track about the "stone lady," the shrine that encourages prayers for the safety of travelers.