Window on Cecil County's Past

   The popular Paper Americana show returns to Singerly Fire Company on January 30.  For the 23rd year, the show will bring over thirty dealers from several states to Elkton to offer for sale antique books, postcards, newspapers, art prints, advertising & regional collectibles, photographs, and general ephemera. Singerly Fire Hall is located at the intersection of Rt. 279 and Rt. 213….

The staff at the Havre de Grace Maritime Museum is hosting the first annual Museums of the Upper Bay Conference on Jan. 23 & 24, 2010.  The conference features valuable topics that address pressing issues face by many small museums, historic sites, and historical societies.  Topics to be discussed during the two-day program include, historic building preservation, collections…

Readers of this blog should  find a an excellent virtual exhibit of digitized images of the Chesapeake City area of interest.  Go to the recently redesigned and relaunched canal town web site by clicking here.  Lee Collins, a Chesapeake City Town Commissioner, curates the display, which contains a large array of outstanding historical photos.  Thanks Lee…

Maryland’s Upper Bay Salutes the new Star-Spangled Banner NHT with Cake and Holiday CheerOver 40 individuals and organizations celebrated and enjoyed an exquisitely-iced sheet cake showcasing the Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail logo during the Head of the Bay Star-Spangled 200 Conference earlier this month.  The dessert event, held at the National-Register listed Principio Furnace in Elkton, Maryland,…

An upcoming program called The Civil War…Three Years with the Big Elk Rangers will be presented at the Cecil County Public Library on Tuesday, January 26 at 7:00 p.m.  Sean Protas, a Civil War re-enactor, will portray David Lilley of the local Big Elk Rangers.

While you have your snow shovel out this winter, think about digging up a little history with the Historical Society of Cecil County’s winter programs.  You can start digging at 9 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 16 by uncovering your roots with a program entitled “Getting Started With Your Family history:  An Introduction to Genealogy.”  This three-hour workshop will introduce you to…

Here’s a link to a Democracy Now interview about StoryCorps, the national organization focusing on collecting the stories of everyday people.  The informative clip includes some interesting sample recordings of people, such as a couple of Memphis Sanitation Department workers.  They were there in 1968 when Martin Luther King came to the TN city to help striking workers.  Another one is…

Maryland’s War of 1812 history isn’t just about major battles, military commanders, political leaders and the powerful. It is 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…

The tradition for kicking off the Christmas Season in Cecil County is the annual lighting of the “Holly Tree by-the-tracks.” The Baltimore & Ohio held the first public ceremony in 1948 when thousands of people gathered to ring in the season as lights from thousands of colorful bulbs on the evergreen softly illuminated the Jackson,…

If you are interested in learning about Elkton’s history as a place for quick marriages, the Historical Society is hosting a free lecture on Feb. 13.  Stop in to hear historian Mike Dixon talk about when the marriage industry thrived in Elkton and the honeymoon express arrived in town everyday.  The program will also take a look…