List

The Historical Society of Cecil County has put together this collection of articles written by some of its past and current members as well as some taken directly from the newspapers of the times.

This book collects over 40 Old Line Plate posts, with lavish illustrations and a bibliography of Maryland cookbooks. Stories include White Potato Pie, Crab Cakes, Maryland Fried Chicken, Baltimore Snowballs, and more.

THIS IS NOT A COOKBOOK: Recipes are historic and as such, may be unsuitable for everyday use.

Slavery, freedom, and kidnapping in the mid-Atlantic.

This is the story of Thomas McCreary, a slave catcher from Cecil County, Maryland. Reviled by some, proclaimed a hero by others, he first drew public attention in the late 1840s for a career that peaked a few years after passage of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. Living and working as he did at the midpoint between Philadelphia, an important center for assisting fugitive slaves, and Baltimore, a major port in the slave trade, his story illustrates in raw detail the tensions that arose along the border between slavery and freedom just prior to the Civil War. McCreary and his community provide a framework to examine slave catching and kidnapping in the Baltimore-Wilmington-Philadelphia region and how those activities contributed to the nation’s political and visceral divide.

Location, location, location: this catchphrase speaks to a dominant theme in the shaping of Cecil County's history. Cecil County is at the head of the Chesapeake Bay, with rivers defining two boundaries and the famous Mason-Dixon Line delineating the northern and eastern boundaries. Close to major cities and known as the most rural county along the northeast corridor of I-95, Cecil has held on to its agricultural heritage while at the same time accommodating the flow of trade, tourists, recreational visitors, dignitaries, military supplies, armies, the navy, and romantic couples ready to be married. The county has added its own agricultural products, natural resources, industrial goods, and citizens to the flow of traffic on the county's historic waterways and highways. Separated from Baltimore County in 1674, Cecil was a few decades from celebrating its bicentennial when the first itinerant photographer unpacked his equipment at the courthouse and began the process of preserving the county's history through images.

What's Weird Around Here?That's a question Mark Moran and Mark Sceurman have enjoyed asking for years--and their offbeat sense of curiosity led them to create the bestselling phenomenon, "Weird N.J." Now the weirdness has spread: several key locales throughout the U.S. are getting the full Weird treatment, with travel guides to the strange, bizarre, and wacky. Each fun and intriguing volume offers more than 250 illustrated pages of places where tourists usually don't venture--it's chock-full of oddball curiosities, ghostly places, local legends, crazy characters, cursed roads, and peculiar roadside attractions. What's NOT shockingly odd here? That every previously published Weird book has become a bestseller in its region. So join the fun on a trek through Maryland, Michigan, and Minnesota. Some of what's out there is disturbing, some hilarious, but all of it is unforgettably ... weird.

The Nottingham Lots began in 1701 after William Penn was told by Lord Talbot of Maryland, that Pennsylvania could settle as far as the fall waters of the Susquehanna go down hill. This area is now located in Northern Cecil County, Maryland and Southern Chester County, Pennsylvania. This book is telling the history of the Nottingham Lots and the genealogy of each of the original sixteen settlers. The Tercentenary celebration of the Nottingham Lots held in September 2001, at the Brick Meetinghouse in Calvert, Maryland, was a successful two day affair. It is likely this was the first time the meetinghouse was crowded for nearly a century.

Reflections on the Class of 1923" presents an evocative collective biography celebrating the centennial of this class at the Tome School for Boys in Port Deposit, Maryland. This masterful tome paints a rich tapestry of the lives of 29 graduates as they journey from boyhood, traversing the hallowed halls of their esteemed institution and maturing into the complex world that awaited them. Delving into the school's origins, the author explores the educational landscape of early 20th-century America and the enduring legacy of Jacob Tome, the school's visionary founder. The narrative weaves an intricate tale of individual triumphs and tribulations set against a bygone era of American prep schools, ultimately honoring the indelible spirit of the class of 1923 and the generation that shaped them.

"Night of the Clipper" is a ghostly story of mystery, action, suspense, and even budding romance centered in the small town of Elkton, Maryland. The date is December, 2013, and young Douglas Pledger and his family are newcomers to the neighborhood, after having moved to escape the bustle of the big city, and for his father, Rick Pledger, to begin a new law practice. For Douglas, confused and frustrated over having to leave his former home and friends, what should be a new beginning for this now-lonely ninth grader is just the beginning of strange and mysterious events that, initially, only he experiences. Douglas' sister Marcy, his father Rick and his mother Rachel become gravely concerned with his sudden change in behavior. It isn't until Douglas enlists the help of former firefighter, Dave Holt, Dave's dog Gretchen and Dr. Celeste Creeley from Villanova University that the truth surrounding Douglas' ghostly encounters becomes clear, after which the only question is, "What now?" Marcy, Rick and Rachel also become deeply involved as answers become known. For Dave Holt, a former fire fighter's haunted past is awakened as he and Douglas become close friends. For Dave's faithful dog, Gretchen, her uncanny instincts will help move the action in the most chilling ways as she helps guide the others to important clues. Celeste Creeley will be met with a realization she would never have anticipated before leaving her home in Radnor Township, Pennsylvania, to travel to Elkton at Dave Holt's invitation as the dynamic background story requires her presence there. Douglas' sister Marcy, father, Rick, and mother, Rachel, will make a shocking transition from disbelievers to unwilling participants in a bizarre series of events as the action unfolds. Elkton CID detective Ed Neevers is initially on the outside looking in as the actions of the other characters present an entirely different picture, where his law enforcement responsibilities require that he begin to investigate the strange goings on in the community. Will his investigation derail the efforts of the others? "Night of the Clipper" is a story that combines action, suspense, the supernatural, and the deeply compassionate, to provide the reader with many exciting facets, real places and true historical events that set the stage for this compelling story. So, strap yourselves in and follow Douglas and his family, Dave Holt, Gretchen the dog, Dr. Creeley and Detective Neevers as they all join together in a wild ride to resolve a 50-year old ghostly mystery. Enjoy "Night of the Clipper!"

In Musical Maryland, the first comprehensive survey of the music emanating from the Old Line State, David K. Hildebrand and Elizabeth M. Schaaf explore the myriad ways in which music has enriched the lives of Marylanders. From the drinking songs of colonial Annapolis, the liturgical music of the Zion Lutheran Church, and the work songs of the tobacco fields to the exuberant marches of late nineteenth-century Baltimore Orioles festivals, Chick Webb’s mastery on drums, and the triumphs of the Baltimore Opera Society, this richly illustrated volume explores more than 300 years of Maryland’s music history.

Beginning with early compositions performed in private settings and in public concerts, this book touches on the development of music clubs like the Tuesday Club, the Florestan Society, and H. L. Mencken’s Saturday Night Club, as well as lasting institutions such as the Peabody Institute and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO). Yet the soundscape also includes militia quicksteps, sea chanteys, and other work songs. The book describes the writing of "The Star-Spangled Banner"—perhaps Maryland's single greatest contribution to the nation's musical history. It chronicles the wide range of music created and performed by Maryland’s African American musicians along Pennsylvania Avenue in racially segregated Baltimore, from jazz to symphonic works. It also tells the true story of a deliberately integrated concert that the BSO staged at the end of World War II.

The book is full of musical examples, engravings, paintings, drawings, and historic photographs that not only portray the composers and performers but also the places around the state in which music flourished. Illuminating sidebars by William Biehl focus on late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century song of the kind evoked by the USS Baltimore or inspired by the state's history, natural beauty, and romantic steamboats. The book also offers a sampling of the tunes that Maryland’s more remarkable composers and performers, including Billie Holiday, Eubie Blake, and Cab Calloway, contributed to American music before the homogenization that arrived in earnest after World War II.

Bringing to life not only portraits of musicians, composers, and conductors whose stories and recollections are woven into the fabric of this book, but also musical scores and concert halls, Musical Maryland is an engaging, authoritative, and bold look at an endlessly compelling subject.

From the Chesapeake to the Alleghenies, Maryland offers a rich diversity of native foods and traditions. Lucy L. Snodgrass’s compilation of 150 delicious recipes from the Old Line State’s most celebrated chefs will have you feasting on Corn and Quinoa Salad with Lemon Mint Dressing, Smith Island Cake, and — of course — crab cooked every which way. This fun guide includes profiles of local food producers and mouthwatering photographs that will inspire you to cook up a taste of Maryland, wherever you live.

Early potters and firebrick makers of Cecil Co., Md., fashioned and fired wheel-turned redware and stoneware, examples of which survive today and are illustrated in color. This book details the successes and failures of those who practiced these trades by integrating land and court records, newspaper reports, business documents, and family histories. (134pp. color illus. index. Author, 2011.)

When, in 2001, Ric signed on to deliver a weekly segment on Maryland history during All Things Considered on WYPR, his was the first short-form radio spot the station featured. Ric narrates little-known human interest stories from any point in Maryland's past, from the early colonial period through the start of the twentieth century. He discovered many of the stories during his time as the director of the Maryland Historical Society, researching factual histories that he could deliver in a storytelling format. The genre is unique, blending narrative or literary nonfiction with regional history. The mission behind Ric's segment is to entertain his audience while sparking their interest in history. Ric has an unusual talent for discovering stories and weaving them into a fascinating narrative. All scenes from Maryland history are fitting for 'Your Maryland.' Ric carefully selects stories that he can convey with some comedy. Even those stories with heavier subject matter, as in the short biography of gunsmith and executioner John Dandy, are conveyed with some dark humor and levity. The volume here collects approximately half of all of the 'Your Maryland' stories Ric has composed over the years and presents them in chronological format. It is the type of book that people might read a little bit at a time, perhaps out of order, and not necessarily cover-to-cover. It's designed as a little book for a very broad audience of Marylanders"--Provided by publisher.

Throughout Maryland, one finds abandoned curiosities in forests and meadows, as well as many hiding in plain sight in urban centers. This collection of Maryland abandonments includes more than a dozen stories. The Lonaconing Silk Mill is a preserved 1957 time capsule, while the National Park Seminary at Forest Glen seems plucked from Grimms' Fairy Tales. Once the lifeblood of a Baltimore neighborhood, the Old Town Mall resembles a set from The Walking Dead, and a few miles away, a shuttered ceramics plant is a reminder of a time when manufacturing was king. Mallows Bay's largest shipwreck in the Western Hemisphere is now a haven for nature, and Baltimore's N.S. Savannah continues to be a billboard for the late Atoms for Peace program. Additional stories about a seminary, the Maryland House of Correction, Fort Washington, Henryton Tuberculosis Sanatorium, a plastics manufacturer, Seneca Quarry, a sanitarium, and a historic coastal cemetery in the Chesapeake Bay region complete the Maryland tale. Discover these forlorn Maryland sites and weave together the threads of history left behind. Step into another world and view images out of the ordinary, and far removed from daily life experiences.