It all began with a tavern that was established where the main road from Swan Creek met with the Philadelphia Post Road. This location became known as Hall's Cross Roads. By 1800, Hall's cross Roads had grown to a small town with a tavern, blacksmith shop, and three houses. In 1837 the railroad came to town when the Baltimore and Port Deposit railroad began operations. The first stationmaster, Mr. Winston named the growing town Aberdeen, since that was the place of his birth in Scotland. In 1852, Edmund Law Rogers and other businessmen purchased a land from the Hall family and he laid out the streets naming them after his family. Besides the railroad making Aberdeen a major shipping point between Baltimore and Philadelphia, George W. Baker's canning house, established in 1867, aided in the economic growth of Aberdeen. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad lines were laid in 1883 going through Aberdeen and the population grew to more than 700 people by 1890. At this time, there were actually three communities in what is now the town of Aberdeen: Mechanicsville, Aberdeen, and Hall's Cross Roads. These three communities were brought together in 1892 when Aberdeen was incorporated. Businesses were established thoughout this time and by 1891, Aberdeen had a bank (First Bank of Aberdeen) and a weekly newspaper (Aberdeen Enterprise). In December 1917, President Woodrow Wilson ordered the establishment of Aberdeen Proving Ground and the U.S. Army Artillery Testing Ground was moved from Sandy Hook in New Jersey to Aberdeen.
Information Source:Aberdeen Heritage Trust
If you note any incorrect information, please let me know.
Harford County, MDGenWeb Coordinator
This page was last updated on March 19,2009
Space for the MDGenWeb web site is provided by