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The Historical Society
of Harford County, Inc.
Welcome! The Historical Society of Harford County, Inc.
is a not-for-profit membership organization whose mission is to collect,
preserve, present, promote, and interpret the rich and diverse history of the County area,
in its regional context, from its prehistoric origins to the present. The Society uses
its facilities, library, archives,
artifacts, systematic historical research, and creative educational opportunities
to ensure that the County’s past are accessible to the public today and in the future.
The Society was incorporated in 1885 and
welcomes all interested persons to enjoy its many activities, services,
and facilities. The Society motto is: "Preserving Our Past for Your
Future." We proudly report that the Society recently received the
“Award for Excellence.” Thus, it joins a small group
of outstanding non-profit organizations in Maryland that have qualified
for the award
This site is updated very frequently, sometimes daily.
Please adjust the internet settings of your software to get
the latest version. The Society has an urgent need for a
retired, volunteer accountant or bookkeeper to assist the
treasurer. Contact: HARCHIS@MSN.COM.
Headquarters,
Photographed in February 1994
HEADQUARTERS
For many years the Society moved among a series of temporary sites.
Its materials were scattered throughout the county. Finally, in l992 the
Society's permanent headquarters became the "Old Post Office"
in Bel Air. This lovely, neo-colonial facility is located at l43 North
Main Street (at the corner of Main and Gordon Streets). It is the focal
point for Society services and activities.
Maps & Directions
ACTIVITIES; (Open to public)
The Society holds regular dinner meetings, lectures, tours, open houses, classes,
and other programs on the heritage of Harford County. Please call for reservations,
410-734-6894.
- Gift Shop at Headquarters, it is open during regular hours of the Society.
Call Lena Caron to help at 410-838-7691.
- Hays House is open every Sunday,
1 to 4 pm, except from the holidays in December until it reopens in March 2008 after
winter break,
and others days by appointment. Call 410-838-7691. $3.00 for adults, $2.00 for
students and seniors. Children under 4 years old & Historical Society
of Harford County members are free. Special event admission is $5.00 for adults, $3.00 for
students and seniors.
Maps & Directions
For more information regarding any event please
contact the Historical Society of Harford County, Inc. at 410-838-7691,
410-838-1213, or concert@hayshouse.org
- Archives and Research Library Open, 10 am - 2 pm, Fourth Saturday of
every month January through October, for other times see below, Headquarters.
$4.00 fee for nonmembers.
- Auction of Antiques, Collectables, and Ephemera, Richard Travers, Auctioneer,
Food will be available, Headquarters May 17, 2008,
10 am, auction preview at 9 am.
- Spring Bus Trip to the White House
and Lincoln Cottage at the Soldier's Home, June 5, 2008.
If you are interested, call 410-838-7691.
- Independence Day, July 4, 2008, 9 am - 12 pm, Hays House,
As a participant in the annual Bel Air Independence Day celebration, the
Hays House Museum is open to the public for free tours and activities.
Docents in period attire will guide visitors on a tour of the Hays House,
the oldest house in Bel Air. The day's activities include our annual American
history costume contest and games,
All ages are welcome to participate! Music by the Catherine
Street Consort,
Admission: Free
- Ice Cream Social, Hays House, August 3, 2008,
1-4 pm, Admission $5 adults, $3 students and seniors. Our annual
ice cream party with an 18th century theme
- Defenders' Day, War of 1812, Susan
Wooden portrays Matilda O'Neill, A patriotic remembrance
of the War of 1812, Hays House, September 7, 2008,
1-4 pm, Admission $5 adults, $3 students and seniors.
- Annual Dinner Meeting, September 12, 2008
- Grandma’s Aprons, a display and demonstration of
Old-Fashioned Housekeeping , Hays House,
October 5, 2008, 1-4 pm, Admission $5 adults, $3 seniors and students
- Wine Tasting, October 10, 2008
- Archer Lecture November 2, 2008
- Native American Exhibit, November 9, 2008
- Holiday Open House, December 7, 2008
- Green Sale, December 13, 2008
- Colonial Candlelight Christmas Concert and Tea with 18th and 19th Century
Instruments and Costumes, December
14, 2008, 4:00 pm. Join us at Emmanuel Episcopal Church, 303 N. Main
Street in Bel Air, for our annual holiday concert of period music performed
by Musica Antiqua. A Tea in the British tradition follows the concert.
Advance reservations are required. Tickets are $20.00 each and can
be obtained by sending a check payable to The Historical Society of Harford
County, Inc., to: Historical Society of Harford County, 143 N. Main
St., Bel Air, MD 21014. For additional details or reservations,
call 410-592-8693 or 410-838-7691. Musica Antiqua
has performed at The Smithsonian Institution's National Portrait Gallery,
Church of the Presidents, Mount Vernon, Maryland State House, and
Historic Annapolis, among other notable venues. Their music has been
included in several documentaries and has been featured on PBS.
- Volunteer Party, December 18, 2008
For more information regarding any event please
contact the Historical Society of Harford County, Inc. at 410-838-7691
or concert@hayshouse.org.
Past Activities
of the Historical Society of Harford County since October 2003
RESEARCH LIBRARY;
(Open Thursdays 9 AM - 3 PM and 4th Saturday of Month from
10 AM - 2 PM except around holidays)
The Society possesses an extensive collection of print material on Harford
County and Maryland history. All materials are cataloged, many are indexed,
and attendants are happy to help researchers. Maps, microfilm, newspapers
vertical file materials, and African-American history files are also part of
the collection. A list of some of the the more valuable books available can seen at
"Book List". If you are interested in research, but unable to visit our
library, click on
History, Genealogical, & Cemetery Research Services. $4.00 fee for non-members.
FAMILY HISTORY (GENEALOGY);
(Same hours as the Library)
The Society is an excellent resource center for family history in Harford
County, Maryland and adjacent areas. For details click here:
Indices, Files, Family Histories, and Reference Books.
If you are a researcher unable to visit our library click on
History, Genealogical, & Cemetery Research Services
. $4.00 fee for non-members.
THE ARCHIVES;
(Open Wednesdays 8 AM - 2 PM and 4th Saturday of Month
from 10 AM - 2 PM except around holidays)
A unique aspect of research materials is the tens of thousands of original
source items dating back to the 1668. These include plats, letters,
diaries, scrapbooks, ledgers,
newspapers,
and legal and business correspondence. Over
7000 photographic images
complement the collection. If you need information on your historic home, a home of
your ancestors, or a historic
house you might buy, come to the Archives for help. All items are preserved
in a professional manner and are carefully cataloged and cross-indexed.
Skilled attendants are eager to assist researchers. Click for an
Overview of Archives Collection. For sample documents click
on Old Licenses or
Havre de Grace Harbor, 1837.
$4.00 fee for non-members.
COURT RECORDS;
(Open Tuesdays 10 - 12 AM & 1 - 2:30 PM, except Dec. 25, 2007 ).
The Society holds many of the early records of Harford County courts. Records begin about
1774 when Harford County came into existence. Cataloging has proceeded up to
the 1830s. The materials are being
cataloged and indexed by volunteers for use by researchers.
$4.00 fee for non-members.
EXHIBITS; (Open anytime the Library,
Archives, Family History, or Court Records are open)
The headquarters building contains a series of exhibits reflective of
both county history and the Society's varied collections. Most exhibits
change on a regular basis.
Native American rock carvings
are one of the permanent exhibits.
THE HAYS HOUSE MUSEUM;
(Sundays 1 to 4 PM except winter break from the December holidays until early March)
The Hays House Museum is located at 324 Kenmore Avenue, near the Bel Air High School, in
Bel Air, Maryland. The Hays House was built in 1788 and is the oldest house in Bel Air.
The Historical Society of Harford County, Inc., operates the historic house as a museum
whose mission is to be a history-in-action museum and a valuable educational resource
that illustrates and re-creates to the extent possible the social, cultural, economic,
and practical aspects of the daily life of rural
gentry primarily during the historical period 1788-1820.
Hays House is open every Sunday,
1 to 4 pm, except for winter break (see above),
and others days by appointment. Admission is $3.00 for adults, $2.00 for
students and seniors. Children under 4 years old and Historical Society
of Harford County members are free. Special event admission is $5.00 for adults, $3.00 for
students and seniors.
Maps & Directions
For more information regarding any event please
contact the Historical Society of Harford County, Inc. at 410-838-7691,
410-838-1213, or concert@hayshouse.org
Click here to go to Hays House Web Site
All Hays House Museum Special Events are sponsored by the Historical Society
of Harford County, Inc., and are made possible in part by a grant from the Maryland
Council for the Arts through the Harford County Cultural Arts Board and Harford County Government.
PUBLICATIONS
The Harford Historical Bulletin, the Society's illustrated journal,
is published a few times a year and mailed free to all members. The Newsletter
is mailed free to members six times a year. Special publications, Bulletin's, and books
are sold at the Society Headquarters or by mail: Books for Sale.
Back issues of Bulletins are sold throught the mail and at the
Society Headquarters.
Buy Bulletins by mail!
Index to All Bulletins
MEMBERSHIP
The Historical Society of Harford County welcomes individuals, families,
and organizations of all backgrounds, ages, and degrees of interest and
involvement. The only requisite for membership is a genuine commitment
to the county and its people, and the payment of annual dues (a portion
of which is tax deductible). The Society encourages all members to become
as active as they can. The Society is run mostly by volunteers. Members get the
Bulletin, meeting notices, use of the all Society research collections,
admission to the Hays House Museum, Headquarters museum, discounts at Society shops,
advanced invitations
to all Society dinners, programs, and activities,
and the Newsletter free.
Membership Application
The Board of Directors, Great Volunteers,
February 5, 2007
From left to right:
Back Row: Phillip Raub, Patrick Spicer, Walter Potter, Arthur Coates, Robert Preston, Richard
Sherrill, Joe Swisher (President), Jeffrey Sawyer (1st Vice-President), Millicent Jordan (2nd Vice-President)
Front Row: Robert Mercado, Mary Cardwell, Glenda Unzelmann, Patricia Hathaway, James
Chrismer, Richard Fox, Claire Blackmer, Rebecca Fitzgerald
Absent: George Borneman (Treasurer), Stephanie Borneman, Stephen Fender, Lena Caron,
Susan Smith (Recording Sec.), Robert Magee, Richard Herbig (Past President), Dorothy Stambaugh (Corresponding Sec.)
Your thoughts, corrections, and suggestions
are welcomed at the e-mail address:
HARCHIS@MSN.COM.
This web site was updated on May 8, 2008. All images and text are copyright from
1996 to the present by The Historical Society of Harford County, Inc., 143 N. Main St.,
Bel Air, MD 21014; TELEPHONE: (410) 838-7691;
E-MAIL: HARCHIS@MSN.COM.
All rights reserved and no use without consent. Designed to be an easily accessible,
readily updated and restructured
web site by Elwin C. Penski. Contributors acknowledged on appropriate page or
on the Webmaster's Page.
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