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St. Ignatius Church was built in 1793 as a mission church. Colonel Ignatius Wheeler contracted Jack Reardon to build the walls of the church at his own expense. Prior to this, Catholics met at Priest Neale’s house on the south side of Deer Creek. The house still stands today. Together these structures trace the beginnings of Catholicism in Harford County.
Comment on Facebook St. Ignatius Church ...
A beautiful church.
Dave Ware this is my church I took you to.
The Lafayette Hotel is located near the site of the old ferry and railroad bridge in Havre de Grace. It was built by John Rodgers and is now the home of the local American Legion. General Lafayette is said to have stopped here during the American Revolution.
At one time, Bel Air boasted six hotels. One of these, the Vaughn Hotel on Main Street across from the Court House provided rooms on the upper floors with Preston’s Stationary, the Red Fox Restaurant, the Main Street Market, Talles Jewelry Store and Smithson’s Barber Shop on the first floor and a bowling alley/recreation center in the basement. The building was destroyed in the 1972 Bel Air fire. Today it is the home of The Tower Restaurant.
Comment on Facebook At one time, Bel Air...
I used to get all my school supplies at Preston’s. The Kanaras and Macrides families made a success of the restaurant in the back.
lest we forget the famed American Restaurant, great Greeks ran the place...introduced me to a lunch of spinach and hard-boiled eggs with toast...add a tad of vinegar...Wow!...thank you Charley...the cook/owner
Do you have any info on the Genders or Ganders hotel? Or something with a similar name? Supposedly my great-great grandparents were married there in the mid 1880's but I cannot find any records of it existing.
It’s almost impossible to visualize Main Street back then, but this photo helps. Thanks 😊
I did NOT know this! Wow! That's awesome!
What a beautiful building...wish it was still there.
I wish there was a hotel in bel air now.
The Bel Air Ma & Pa Railroad Station brought prosperity to the town with its opening in the 1880s. Roads at the time were very poor and travel was primarily by horse and buggy. With the introduction of rail lines, farmers could now ship goods to the Baltimore and Pennsylvania Markets, mail delivery was expedited, residents could travel to schools and retail establishments outside the county and an industrial complex began to grow around the station. The train ran until 1959. With improved roads trucks and automobiles the meandering train trip lost its charm and profitability. Today the building is gone, and the tracks have been replaced by a hiking trail.
Comment on Facebook The Bel Air Ma & Pa ...
The Fallston Station still stands.
Remember it well! I still miss the hearing the “chug” of the engine and the train whistle.
What a great historic photo.
Thanks for sharing!
Great picture
My Grandparents lived upstairs. My grandfather worked for the Ma and Pa..
The National Register-listed Hays House, likely built in 1788 with an addition in 1811, is the oldest dwelling in the Town of Bel Air. The house was moved from Main Street to its current location in 1960 to save it from demolition to make way for a new supermarket (currently Main Street Centre). Thomas A. Hays, the second owner of the house, drew the earliest known map of the town circa 1818. A re-creation of the house’s original kitchen was constructed in 2001. Today, the house is operated by The Historical Society of Harford County as a living-history museum dedicated to 18th and 19th century life. (The Hays House)
Forming the center of Churchville, the National Register-listed Churchville Presbyterian Church is the oldest Presbyterian church in the county. It was built in several phases, starting with the brick gable-roofed center by local builder Elijah Walton in 1820 The second phase, built in 1870 is a restrained Italianate style brick bell tower designed by architect J. Crawford Neilson of the Baltimore architecture firm of Niernsee and Neilson (best known for their work on Camden Station in Baltimore) and pulpit, pews, and wainscoting by local craftsman William Shuck. The church hall, designed by Bel Air architects Alexander Shaw and W. Kendall Duff, was completed in 1950. The adjoining graveyard has burials dating to 1819. Photo courtesy of the Maryland Historical Trust.
(HA-441, Churchville Presbyterian Church and Cemetery, Churchville)
Comment on Facebook Forming the center ...
Joyce Heizer Born
Meg Fairfax Fielding
Steve Cook
I will forever remember all the Roland family (my family💜) sitting together in the pews!! What great memories I have. Miss them all so much!!
My grandmother grew up in a small house that was right across the street but has been torn down.
My sister & I grew up right next door. (Hamby house)The church was like our second home. ❤️
I marvel t this beautiful church
My sisters and I were all married there. It is the church I grew up attending.
Several family members buried there.
Their graveyard is most intriguing.
Thank you for sharing.
Many many happy hours spent there.
Mom, Julie Ann Dayhoof-Ewers and I went there....Am I right Julie? Then we would go and get stromboli and take them to your house.
Harford County has a very inspiring military background dating back to the days of the Militia during the American Revolution to those serving in the present day National Guard and the soldiers and civilians working at Aberdeen Proving Ground. This year on Memorial Day we extend our heartfelt thanks to all those who have served in our various military branches and those who continue to keep us safe during the current pandemic. The attached photo tells a great deal about the commitment of county National Guard troops as far back as the 1890s. The picture is of Company D National Guard Bel Air. It was provided by Rick Nicklas and features his great grandfather, William Patton, Patton’s two brothers – Harry and Howard along with their stepfather James (Jim) Ayres. We wish everyone a very happy and healthy Memorial Day weekend.
Comment on Facebook Harford County has a...
Great piece of history. Thank you for sharing
Thank you - History lives as long as we remember our past and honor those who served in the military. ❤️
Thank you for posting!
Epidemiology of the Spanish Flu of 1918 in Harford CountySome of my current research is focused on the impact of the Spanish Influenza of 1918 on counties and cities in Maryland, South Jersey, and parts of Pennsylvania. While collecting evidence for this investigation, I have been working with reports submitted by Boards of Health during that pandemic.
Here is some preliminary Harford County work. In 1918, the rural county outside of Baltimore reported 832 deaths. An analysis of the previous seven years before the contagion swept into Harford County indicated that around 381 cases of mortality were expected.
Harford County had one of the highest morbidity and mortality cases rates I have examined thus far in counties and cities along the I-95 corridor from Philadelphia to Baltimore. About 2.9 percent of the population died that year. Forty-four percent of Harford's cases occurred at the Filling Station (Edgewood), 18 percent at Aberdeen Proving Ground, and 38 percent throughout civilian areas of the county.
I will pull all of this together in a full report once I have finished analyzing the various Board of Health reports and death certificates.
Grace Methodist Protestant Church, circa 1911, was located on North Main Street In Bel Air. It was a member of the national Methodist Protestant Church which split from the established Methodist Episcopal Church organization in 1828 over a disagreement in organizational structure. The mother church itself later split into Northern and Southern divisions after the Civil War. They later rejoined to form the United Methodist Church of today and in 1939 the national Methodist Protestant Church merged with the United Methodist Episcopal Church which led to the members of Grace M.P. joining in1942 with Bel Air United Methodist a block south on Main St. In 1946 the church building was taken over by the newly created Harford County Public Library. After the library moved to a new facilities, the church building had various tenants including another church group and a furniture warehouse until It was eventually demolished in the 1980s due to structural problems.
Located southeast of Bel Air along Fountain Green Road (MD 543), Christopher’s Camp is an active farm that is part of a tract originally patented in 1684. The large, Federal style, stone farmhouse was originally built in 1771, as evidenced by the date stone on the west elevation. Photo courtesy of the Maryland Historical Trust. (HA-937, Christopher’s Camp, Bel Air/Fountain Green)
Comment on Facebook Located southeast of...
Fortunately the previous owner also placed the property in Harford County Government’s Land Preservation Program. Otherwise the homestead could be surrounded by new suburban homes. Kudos to Bill Amoss of the county government for shepherding that program for many years.
Was wondering where exactly this is? Someone above said is this the vet clinic?? It doesnt look like it?? The vet clinic is where I take my dog..
I remember the contractor that bought the place and proceeded to erect a building. It had to be razed due to the deed restrictions. I understand Old Court Savings & Loan and Jeffery Levitt had ties to the builder, financing many of the land deals after which the builder built strip malls, office buildings, etc.
Again, I thank the Historical Society of Harford Co. for sharing & preserving our past.
If you trace deeds back far enough they are all part of an original tract. 🤷🏻♂️
Is this where the veterinarian clinic is now?