The Cecil County Fair, which opened for the first time on Oct. 13, 1880, in Elkton, was organized in a whirlwind of activity. In just a quarter of a year, organizers accomplished daunting tasks such as acquiring fairgrounds and preparing the property to receive thousands of visitors. Once Cecil’s agriculturalist incorporated the Cecil County Agricultural…
Cecil County and the Moon Landing
CECIL COUNTY AND THE MOON LANDING — For anyone old enough July 20, 1969, is one of those days that is permanently etched into memory. On that Sunday, the United States landed on the moon. A few days earlier on July 16 when the three Americans rocketed from this planet in a small capsule destined…
The Elkton Doughboy Monument
In the center of the county seat, the Elkton Doughboy Monument honors the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. After some discussion about creating a memorial, the project moved rapidly forward, and residents contributed $10,000 toward the proposal. Joseph H Sloan, an Elkton firm, contracted with the Rutland Marble Company…
A Patriotic Fourth of July in Cecil County
On the Fourth of July 1919, Cecil County celebrated Independence Day in a grand style. The largest event took place in Elkton as thousands of people saluted the soldiers and sailors who had served in World War I. They were welcomed home with a rousing reception on that particularly glorious Fourth of July 100-years-ago. Never…
Here’s the Scoop for These Hot July Days: Ice Cream Goes Way Back in Cecil County
These July days are an excellent time for enjoying that smooth and creamy summer treat, ice cream. That is especially true on hot, steamy Eastern Shore days like we are currently experiencing, as few pleasures are as comforting and cooling as a double scoop of the frozen dessert. Ice cream has been the quintessential way…
Recalling Schools Days at George Washington Carver School
Each year hundreds of graduating seniors receive high school diplomas in Cecil County. However, in June 1964, when nine students at George Washington Carver School in Elkton stepped forward to receive degrees, it was a particularly historic moment for it marked the end of segregated high schools in Cecil County. At the commencement five boys…
Freedom Riders on Route 40
The Freedom Riders started incursions into the sharply segregated deep South to confront Jim Crow laws in 1961. For the campaign, young people boarded buses heading into states where they tested a Supreme Court ruling declaring that separate interstate travel facilities were unconstitutional. But this era of protest also involved visits to northeastern Maryland as…
George Potts, Elkton’s First Police Chief
George Potts was appointed to a two-year term as bailiff in June 1908. The salary for the man who constituted the entire police force was $50 per month and the council had an assignment ready for him when he took office. The Town had erected large signs warning of the eight M.P.H. speed limit for…
Cecil County’s Octagonal School
The Carter’s Mill School, an octagonal school was also known as the eight-sided schoolhouse was built in 1820 by Robert Carter at Carter’s Bank. The stone schoolhouse was replaced in 1886 by a two-room frame building located on the west side of Singerly Road at Andora. William Spratt built the Andora School for $275. It…
The Cecil County Almshouse — A Place to Care for the Poor & Needy
For nearly three centuries, Cecil County’s destitute, elderly, sick, and mentally ill, as well as other cast-asides from society who couldn’t make it on their own, found help at the county almshouse poorhouse. Today, this institution, on the road between Childs and Cherry Hill, is home to Mt. Aviat Academy. However, until the 1950s, it…