| Cecil County History Articles |
| From Our Bulletin & Other Sources. . . |
| Updated: July, 2002 |
| The Charles Town Post Office. |
| by Darlene M. McCall |
| The early American colonies had an official postal system as early as 1639. In that year, the Massachusetts Colony gave Richard Fairbanks permission to receive and dispatch ship mail at his home in Boston. He was paid one cent for every letter he handled. Early colonists did not like the system because the authorities had the right to open any mail to check if it contain statements against the king. |
| The Fire at Elk Landing. |
| By Michael Peddicord |
| In 1848, the Hollingsworth mansion at Elk Landing was owned by Mary E. Hollingsworth, widow of the late William Hollingsworth. William was the heir of Zebulon Hollingsworth, Jr., who operated a shipping business that transported merchandise from Philadelphia to Baltimore. Constructed in the early 1800s, the Hollingsworth mansion was home to two generations of children and survived the War of 1812. |
| PorterBridge in Richardsmere. |
| by Rita M Suffness |
| The Porters, or Richardsmere Bridge, is a metal Pratt through truss designed and built in 1885 by the Wrought Iron Bridge Company under the supervision of Charles H. Latrobe, as documented in the Minutes of the Cecil County Commissioners. He was a noted Maryland engineer and principal in the Baltimore Bridge Company. The structure was located on US Route 1, an important transportation corridor on the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, before the State Road Commission bypassed the 6,000-foot section of US Route 1, on which it was located, in 1933. |
| Agriculutre, Then and Now. |
| by Anne Copley |
| On plantations like Bohemia Manor, some of the vast acreage granted to Augustine Herman by Lord Baltimore, slaves were already harvesting tobacco from the fields of southern Cecil County in 1674. That was the year Cecil was officially designated as a county. |
| The First Census of Cecil County |
| by Unknown |
| The first census by the Federal Government was taken in Cecil County in 1790. The inhabitants were enumerated in their respective hundreds, fifteen in number. Baltimore was the only other Maryland county where the enrollment was made according to hundreds. |
| Cecil County Hundreds |
| by Unknown |
| The Story of Cecil County Hundreds. |
| The formation of Cecil County |
| by Unknown |
| The Story of how Cecil County became a County. |
|
| Principio |
| by Milt Diggins |
| Until recently, People driving past the site of the old Principio Iron Works and looking beyond the distinctive former office building would have observed a tract obscured by a thick growth of trees, bushes, and weeds; the imposing obstacles reinforced by "No Tresppassing" signs. |
| Confederates in Cecil County |
| by Bill Stubbs |
| Lucien Bean is buried a few feet from the foundation of the Episcopal Church in the tiny village of St. Augustine just south of Chesapeake City. A short inscription on the headstone reads, first at the top, "Cap't,"
then in an arc below it, "Lucien Bean," then, below the arc, "Co. A, 17 Miss. Vol., CSA" revealing that he is one of a small number of Confederate veterans buried in Cecil County. |
| An Arkhaven Entrepeuner |
| by Dr. Davy McCall |
| Davy McCall tells about his great-grandfather, John Ross, an Ark Haven Entrepeuner. Arkhaven was a village on the Susquehanna River near the Maryland/Pennsylvania state line. Today its under the backwaters of the Conowingo Dam. |
| The Baltimore Central Railroad Reaches Rising Sun |
| by Jerre Garrett |
| The Baltimore and Philadelphia Central Railroad Company, known locally as the Baltimore Central, began officially with ground breaking on a farm in Concord Township, Pennsylvania, in 1855. Company dignitaries threw one shovelful of dirt toward Philadelphia and another toward Baltimore to signify their intent that the line would connect local businesses with the two cities. |
| Betterton -- My Summer Place |
| by Susan Edward Armstrong |
| Susan recalls summering at the Chesapeake Bay Resort of Betterton in the 1940s. She recalls the Rigbie Hotel, its owner W. S. Brice, and the majestic view of the beautiful Sassafrass River. |
| Cecil County Libraries: Guardians of Minds and Morals |
| By Ruth Ann Johnson |
| Improving minds and morals seems to have been the goal of Cecil County Library advocates in the nineteenth century. The Cecil Whig of November 2, 1872, called the formation of a Literary Society a "laudable enterprise,"
announcing that "these men have organized this reading group for their mutual and moral improvement. |
| The Chesapeake Chesapike |
| by Jack Shagnea |
| Sometime late Friday afternoon in the autumn of 1876 publisher Harry Moss and his office staff completed the
production of Volume 1, Number 1, of the Chesapeake Chesapike and delivered the wrapped and addressed papers to the Chesapeake City post office on George Street. |
| A Civil War Widow's Tragedies |
| by Jerre Garrett |
| No Civil War battles were fought in Cecil County, but the lives of its citizens were shaped by events that unfolded during those fateful years. In this article, Jerre Garrett, the author of Muffled Drums & Mustard Spoons, Cecil County, Maryland 1860 - 1865, tells of the tragedies faced by a Civil War Widow from North East, MD. |
| The Cecil County Agricultural Society |
| By Jerre Garrett |
| In the fall of 1880 all roads led to Elkton for everyone who could walk or ride headed for the new fair grounds and the opening of the Cecil County Agricultural Society's first county fair. |
| The Elkton Debating Society |
| by Dorothy D. Robinson |
| The minutes of the Elkton Debating Society are one of the treasures of the Historical Society of Cecil County. This valuable document came from the estate of the late Miss Anna Denney. Miss Denney was a long-time member of The Society and always had its interest at heart. |
| Feeling "The Old" on Main Street in Warwick |
| by Dr. R. John Brockman |
| Dr. R. John Brockman tells what its like to feel "the old" on Main Street in Warwick, one of Cecil's oldest communities. |
| Head Of Elk And How It Grew |
| By Michael L. Dixon |
| Shortly after the Revolutionary War, Head of Elk (Elkton) became the seat of Cecil County's government. Next spring the town was incorporated. In this article, from the Spring 1996 Bulletin, we explore the growth of the town in the 18th & 19th centuries. |
| The Many Routes To Finding Our Roots |
| by Rose & Evelyn Finney |
| Authors Rose & Evelyn Finney discuss their search for relatives, a search that lead them to Cecil County. |
| The Port Deposit Black Sox |
| by Fred Kelso |
| The time was the 1930s and George's team was the Port Deposit Black Sox, an all-black baseball team whose members and fan couldn't get enough of the game. In this article, Fred Kelso explores the history that led up to this moment in space and time, this emotional experience which brought a community together. |
| A Visit To Rose Hill |
| by Horace L. Hotchkiss |
| Rose Hill was one of the great plantations of Cecil County, Maryland, in the 19th century, situated on the Sassafras next to Mount Harmon Plantation and near the village of Cecilton. Its daily activities are known up to 1850 from the diaries of Martha Ogle Forman and her neighbor, Sidney George Fisher. |
| Warwick - A Municipality No More |
| by Michael L. Dixon |
| Warwick, a small community in southeastern Cecil County, near the Delaware State Line, was once an incorporated village. This piece provides the brief history of Warwick as a municipality. |
| What is My History? |
| by Sally McKee |
| What is the history of the property located at 135 East Main Street, Elkton, Maryland? This is one of the most frequently asked questions at The Historical Society. A search of old deeds and other sources
tells us many interesting things. |
| Where Did You Come From . . .? |
| By Adeline R. Preston |
| My mother talked frequently of her Uncle Dan who had a newspaper in North East. She really didn't know too much about him, only hearsay handed down through the family. She was so proud because he had written
a book "Danville Past and Present." |
| Women and Work in Cecil County History |
| by Eilenn Ondra |
| Eileen Ondra provides insight on what lead her to write this interesting and informative piece on women and work in Cecil County. Starting from that perspective, she writes about women and their occupations in the County. |
