Since the early 1900s, postcards have offered views of all facets of life in Harford County. These keepsakes document natural beauties, such as Kilgore Falls, and natural disasters, such as the ice boulders that invaded Havre de Grace during the winter floods of the Susquehanna River. Church spires dominate a bird's eye view of Jarrettsville from 1910. The streets and stores of Aberdeen, Forest Hill, and Perryman come to life. Postcards reveal the pride of homeowners in Darlington and Bel Air. This volume features the many hard-working citizens who helped the county prosper: farm hands, fishermen, smithies, North Harford slate quarry workers, and many more. World War I views of a soldier's life at Edgewood Arsenal salute the county's military. The stunning portraits in this collection highlight the people who made Harford County what it is today.

With original European settlements dating back over 300 years, Harford County is rich in evidence of its past inhabitants. Images from the past 100 years show the early movie theaters that stood in Aberdeen, Bel Air, and Havre de Grace, the graceful iron bridge that crossed Deer Creek, the grand stone Archer home with farm animals wandering outside the front door, the general store at Carsins Run, and much more. Historic photographs and postcards document the people who have lived in Harford County, the places they have built, and their way of life. Present-day photographs taken for this book reveal the changes that have occurred. These pages showcase streetscapes, stores, restaurants, homes, schools, and churches from Jarrettsville to Darlington and Cardiff to Riverside. Some are all but forgotten, some have been repurposed, and some have been magnificently restored. Through vintage and modern photographs and postcards, Harford County is revealed then and now.

The town of Bel Air is the hub of Harford County and one of the most vital towns in the state of Maryland. Developed as the county seat in 1780, Bel Air began as an area of about seven blocks by two blocks with a courthouse directly in the center. Today, after tremendous growth, Main Street and the courthouse still lie at the heart of the town. From Bel Air's beginning to its incorporation in 1874 and through the 21st century, growth and change have presented challenges and opportunities for this storybook community.

Book of postcards from the collection of Carol N. Crossedat the Susan B. Anthony Birthplace Museum

Situated in southeastern Harford County and edged by the Chesapeake Bay and the Bush and Gunpowder Rivers, the U.S. Army bases known as Aberdeen Proving Ground, Edgewood Arsenal, and Fort Hoyle have been home to ordnance, chemical, technology, and artillery commands. The photographs in this volume include scenes of the fertile farmlands of Aberdeen, Edgewood, and Michaelsville, and their transformation, which began in 1917, into the military base known today as Aberdeen Proving Ground, or APG. Views of daily life on base include the "Toonerville" Trolley, a small-scale train that shuttled commuting personnel between the main gate and the buildings on post. The images document changes in the ways wars have been fought and changes in society as a result of war. Brave officers voluntarily tested the effects of mustard agent and other chemical weapons on protective clothing and gas masks. Local women sewed gas masks for troops and civilians. Women moved into key jobs on base during World War II, manufacturing and maintaining tanks and weapons systems as the need for great numbers of troops depleted the workforce of civilian males. APG scientists led the way into the computer age when they developed ENIAC, the first electronic digital computer.