Window on Cecil County's Past

We recently received a press release from theWest Nottingham Historical Commission advising that the organization is planning to erect a historical marker noting the forceful 1851 kidnapping of Rachel Parkier, an African-American. A slave catcher from Elkton, Thomas McCreary, was involved in the abduction, which alarmed Pennsylvania and galvanized popular opinion against the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.  Click…

Maryland’s War of 1812 history isn’t just about major battles, military commanders, political leaders, and the powerful. It’s also about a time of great fright on the shores of the Chesapeake for everyday people as enemy soldiers terrorized the region, “firing private property and robbing hen houses.” With the 200th anniversary of this conflict approaching,…

By Jennifer Hayes — Middletown Transcript Just a few miles down the road from Middletown sits the Mount Harmon Plantation, a colonial site right on the Sassafras River in Earleville, Md., boasting 200 acres of nature trails, gardens wildlife and colonial buildings. Each year, the Friends of Mount Harmon invite the public to explore the…

You never know what kind of buried treasures might turn up  when someone starts digging around older parts of Elkton.  Many parking areas, streets, and buildings lots have yielded relics that were tossed aside and buried long ago.  It’s been that way for centuries as people are  often astonished after unearthing Revolutionary War and War…

by Adam Rybczynski. the Havre de Grace Patch Cecil County is home to several of Maryland’s most spectacular landmarks: Turkey Point Lighthouse, the Gilpin covered bridge, the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, and most iconic, the remains of Bainbridge. Bainbridge’s notable history is rooted in Jacob Tome’s established, elusive prep school for wealthy young men. Tome’s magnificent…

An error on the tombstone of Private James D. Alexander, a Civil War soldier from Elk Neck who died nearly 90 years ago, was corrected during a ceremony today at Hart’s United Methodist Church Cemetery.  When the old veteran died in 1922, a regulation Confederate States of America grave marker was erected. Generations later John Goff,…

The Cecil County Public Library is pleased to be nominated for a 2011 Library blog Award by the Salem Press. CCPL is one of the five finalists out of hundreds of nationwide nominations in the category of outstanding Local Blogs, which awards blogs that are institution specific and promote the interests of a public, academic,…

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…