In the autumn of 1918, World War I was nearing an end, and Cecil County was looking forward to the doughboys returning home from the trenches of Europe. But no one was prepared for the crisis that was about to strike the home front. Hitting suddenly, the Midland Journal reported on October 4, 1918, that…
Horror at Childs Railroad Station
CHILDS, June 20, 1890 — Just after two o’clock in the morning the overnight Baltimore & Ohio Express Train, No. 114, bound for New York hurtled across Cecil County. As the engine, baggage car, and two Pullman sleepers neared the Childs Station, it was going full speed, the throttle opened up to 55 miles an…
Elkton’s First Police Car
A few months after the Great Depression rocked the country, the Mayor and Commissioners of the Town of Elkton took a major step forward, purchasing a patrol car for the two-man police force. This was the first police car for local law enforcement in Cecil County, local dealer Warren W. Boulden selling the 1930 Ford…
Dr. Richards’ Port Deposit Hospital
Advances in health care in the late 19th and early 20th century, things such as antiseptic and aseptic surgery, x-rays, and laboratories, made hospitals indispensable for treating the sick and injured. Physicians needed the services of these institutions with their technical equipment, specialized personnel, and capability for around-the-clock care so treatment started moving from the…
Times Passes at the Cecil County Courthouse Corner in Elkton
Elkton, Back to the Future — Oct. 21, 2015, was Back to the Future Day, and lots of towns celebrated in tribute to the 30th anniversary of the legendary Back to the Future film starring Michael J. Fox. In it Fox travels 30 years into the future, October 21, 2015. All that talk about time…
A Troubled Civil War Soldier — His Story
The Civil War cast a long, troubling shadow over the nation, the healing going on for generations. In addition to the damage done to the nation, it also altered the lives of many young soldiers. In the horrifying aftermath of this great conflict, those who returned home, having experienced carnage, bloodshed, and death, were changed…
A Fallen Mason Dixon Monument
A Mason Dixon Stone on the road from Elkton to Glasgow, after standing nearly a hundred and nineteen years, “yielded to the action of the elements and fell over” on the ground in William Fowler’s wheat field on the farm of the late Andrew McIntire, the Cecil Democrat reported in 1885. The ground is slightly…
Remembering Chief McIntire
CHIEF THOMAS N. MCINTIRE, JR. (1925 – 2019) – Saturday morning) we were saddened to hear of the passing of Chief Thomas N. McIntire, Jr. Born in Elkton on January 16, 1925, the 94-year-old died peacefully at home on Dec. 14. 2019. Coming of age at a time that demanded an enormous sacrifice from the…
The Pilot Town School
PILOT TOWN SCHOOL — Youngsters in the vicinity of the eight-district village of Pilot Town attended this school, which was located on the southwest corner of Pilot Town and Bell Manor Road. On May 31, 1859, a school for this vicinity came into the county system, when George W. Gillespie sold a three-quarter acre lot…
Cecil County Canning Companies
NOTES ON CECIL COUNTY CANNING COMPANIES — A number of towns once had canneries, processing corn, peaches, tomatoes, and other products. Some of the largest were located in the northwestern part of Cecil County. By the late 19th century, there were canneries in the Colora and Liberty Grove area. For example, the Cecil Whig reported…