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As a border state, Maryland played a critical role in the Civil War, and beginning in 2011, the Maryland Humanities Council (MHC), regional historic sites, museums and other cultural organizations throughout the state will be observing the Civil War Sesquicentennial. As part of this remembrance, MHC’s 2011 Chautauqua living history series will feature three key…

In the 1880s, Cecil County searched for a more cost-effective way to meet the needs of the mentally ill.  Some ended up at the jail in Elkton, others turned up at the poorhouse in Cherry Hill, and the most acute patients went to “insane asylums” around the region.  Considering the growing number of people needing institutionalization…

(April 29, 2011) – Oh, say can you see…. Maryland’s bi-centennial commemoration of the War of 1812 making its way to the Upper Bay Region? A website www.upperbay1812.com  has been developed to share the history, notable people and places of the War of 1812 Upper Bay or Chesapeake Campaign.                                                  A steering committee of…

Please visit the Perryville Branch Library at 7:00 on May 5th for A History of Port Deposit presented by Port’s Town Administrator, Erika Quesenbery. From John Smith’s visit, to the Bainbridge Naval Base, Port Deposit has a long and storied past. As the town’s bicentennial quickly approaches in 2013, it is time to learn about…

Press Release Elkton, MD – The Board of Trustees of the Maryland Historical Trust (MHT) has named the rehabilitation of the Gilpin’s Falls Covered Bridge the winner of a 2011 Maryland Preservation Award for Project Excellence.  The award will be presented at the 36th Annual Maryland Preservation Awards ceremony at the Miller Senate Office Building…

This past Wednesday marked the thirty-third anniversary of the worst commercial nuclear accident in U.S history. As the crisis that resulted in a partial meltdown at the Three Mile Island Power Plant began on March 28, 1979, Cecil County Civil Defense was deeply involved in testing the area’s preparedness for a nuclear disaster. But at…

The Friends of the Cecil County Public Library will host a night of local authors on Thursday, April 14 at 7 p.m. at the Elkton Central Library. Dr. Corinne Litzenburg and Mrs. Bobbie Hinman, are the featured authors of children’s books. Brigadier General Ken Wiggins is featured as an author of Delaware military history. Each author…

One of the Historical Society’s most experienced family history researchers and a past president of the Genealogical Society of Cecil County, Gary Burns, has worked several years transcribing tombstones at practically every known cemetery in Cecil County. From Bald Friar to Warwick, and every other place in between, he and helpers, have visited quite old…

By James R. Koterski  Clay deposits played a major role in the economy of bygone Cecil County. Some were mined and shipped out-of-state while others provided the key raw material to potters and firebrick makers. Wheel-thrown redware and stoneware were fired in kilns at Rising Sun, Brick Meeting House, NorthEast and Rock Springs. Meanwhile, some Delaware and Pennsylvania…

See updated Post, November 22, 1963:  Remembering the Fallen:  Three Cecil County Firefighters Made the Ultimate Sacrifice Although a lot of time has passed since two members of the county’s fire service fell in the line of duty, it’s important to remember them.  Perhaps someday a memorial can be created to honor those fire, rescue…