Window on Cecil County's Past

Although tax season is over for most Americans now that we are a couple of days past April 15th, it doesn’t mean that records generated for annual levies long ago aren’t of interest. In fact, one of the Historical Society of Cecil County research volunteers, Jo Ann Gardner, has been pouring over volumes of those…

This is National Public Safety Telecommunications Week (April 13-19, 2014), a time when the United States honors the professionals who answer 911 calls and dispatch emergency responders. While the nation thanks public safety communicators, Window on Cecil County’s Past pauses to tip our hat to the County’s 911 calls-takers, dispatchers, and technicians who maintain our emergency…

Spring has finally arrived on the Upper Chesapeake and at old Rev. Duke’s Log House things were busy on this sunny Thursday afternoon as the temperature approached the mid-60s.  It was a perfect, early April afternoon as Arts Council volunteers tilled the soil on the front lawn for a community garden.

The Susquehanna Power Company built a police substation at Conowingo for the Maryland State Police in 1929, leasing the land to the agency for a dollar a year. When it opened in April of that year, a staff of two sergeants, a corporal, and four officers were assigned to the post.   It was a…

To drink or not to drink was the question at this month’s program at the Historical Society of Cecil County as the organization examined the days of temperance, prohibition, speakeasies, bootleggers and Bathtub gin. Afterwards everyone was invited to a secret rendezvous at the Bootlegger’s Ball, over at the North Street Hotel. There the guests…

From the Cecil County Public Library Date: 4/8/2014 Start Time: 7:00 PM Description:  Local historian Mike Dixon recounts national and local Civil Defense activities, from World War II to the nuclear age, when government officials planned for the worst. Registration required. Library: Perryville Branch Location: Meeting Room to register click here.  

The author of a biography about the chief engineer of the C & D Canal, John Randel, Jr. will speak at the Historical Society of Cecil County April 12 at 2:00 p.m. “An eccentric and flamboyant surveyor,” Randel was “renowned for his inventiveness” and his irascibility. After “drafting and executing the street grid plan for…

Social historian Mike Dixon will present an engaging presentation on the evolution of crime, punishment and police work in the region.  This engaging talk will examine old county jails, headline-grabbing criminal escapades of long ago, discontinued methods of punishment, and unheralded peace officers. Registration is required. Date: 3/24/2014  at 6:30 p.m Library: Chesapeake City Branch…

There was lots of inspiring talk about old Elkton during the middle third of the 20th century at the Historical Society of Cecil County this afternoon. Remembering those lively, youthful days was Evelyn V. (Vaggi) Scott, the 80-year-old daughter of George D and Mary G. Vaggi, who purchased the Howard Hotel, a long-established downtown business…

The Genealogical Research Guide for Cecil County, Maryland (revised edition) by Darlene McDowell McCall is an informative out-of-print title packed with guidance and information for anyone starting on genealogy in the county.  Last updated in 1997, it served as a good starting point for anyone seeking to discover records and sources. The last edition of…