"Not Norman Rockwell
 but a photo of the Town Square."

Port Deposit Maryland
Placed on the National Historic Register
May 23, 1978
 by Al Bruno

    Port Deposit  has been coined the "Original Mayberry" and that  description is still true today.  It is a small town in western Cecil County, Maryland. "Main Street" runs parallel to the northeastern bank of the Susquehanna River it is about 9/10's of a mile long and is the original section of U.S. Route 222.

Between Main Street and the river there is about  two to three hundred yards of land. Port Deposit is surround on three side by steep Granite Cliffs that rise upwards to 250 feet . The north and south of town the land are protected wetlands, State Parks or open space Greenway trails.  To her face is the Susquehanna River and directly across the river is Harford Hills the picturesque countryside that is park of the Susquehanna State Park system.

Not so long ago the Port Deposits river shore had industrial buildings, canning factories, mills and wharves. This was a thriving center of commerce, so much so that on the eve of the Civil War, Port Deposit was the eight largest city in Maryland.

Goods would travel down the river from as far north as Cooperstown, New York. Raw materials were then processed and reshipped on the tall ships that navigated up the bay. These ship often traveled to New York and beyond.

For about a mile beginning at the southeastern end of town, there are lots on both sides of Main Street. With few exceptions, the buildings are residential or small-scale commercial structures. The entire town is listed as either commercial-residential or residential-commercial. Over the several centuries of her existence most every home or building had some sort of commerce in them. Port Deposit of old would swell with travelers during the spring freshet season. Most of the larger houses of the more wealthy businessmen were built during the latter part of the 19th century. Port Deposit's heyday peaked in 1867, the year that the railroad came through town.

The town of Port Deposit, was known as Creswell's Ferry until 1812. Being built in the floodplain of the Susquehanna, the town prospered due to the various industries that developed from the commerce arriving from up river by Susquehanna Arks. The Susquehanna River reaches deep into western New York State. Railroads were not prevalent until the mid to late 1800's in that part of New York. Southward, the Susquehanna river provided an inexpensive way of getting goods to market. This enabled a large variety of goods from beans, whiskey, coal and raw lumber to arrive on her shore by these Arks rafts. In many case, the products went not refined and required further processing before being moved by tall ship to other parts of the country and world. Port Deposit accommodated this need.

By 1812, there was approximately thirteen million dollars of commerce being traded or passing through the town.  By location Port Deposit is the northernmost deep water port at the head of the Chesapeake bay. An ideal transition location from the shallow draft Susquehanna Arks to the deep draft merchant ships

A Merchant Grist Mill (or Rock Run Mill or John Steel's Grist Mill), was built in 1725 and was still in operation in 1913.

In 1789, the granite quarry north of the mill was in operation, and stone was shipped over a wide region. Historic Fort McHenry is it believed was partially built with the blue-hued Port Deposit granite. Known for it's beautiful color and clean sheering/cleavage properties local granite quarries thrived from the 1830s through the turn of the 20th century. It's unique coloring along with the quality of stone not only graces many cathedrals and federal buildings but it provided the town with a unique character. The bluish-gray granite was used in some way in almost every building, sheets were used in making sidewalks, in retaining walls to protect against floods and ice jams, and for the terrace walls that steps up along the towns hillside. The movement to lay stone pavements began in 1837.  A majority of  this sidewalk is still in place today.

That which brought prosperity to Port Deposit has also been it's bane. It was because of the "spring freshets" which enabled large rafts and arks the ability to navigate past Smith Falls and other shallow draft portions of the river that the town prospered. But the high water, flooding and Ice-Gorges have also been a continuing problem for Port Deposit residents (Photos). According to Indian lore there was a major storm on the Susquehanna every fourteen years. In many cases the the high water came yearly. One in 1886 partially destroyed the town's records. One would  notice that most of Port Deposit's buildings are designed with high basements for flood protection. Some of those facing the river from the northern side of Main Street sit back and are elevated from the street level. Others have a full-story stone basement which can be entered from the sidewalk. Throughout the town of Port Deposit there are several sections of modest row houses, some with Second Empire and Eastlake details. There are several Queen Anne style houses, and a scatter of Greek Revival, Colonial Revival and Bungalow styles.

Most of the inns which existed throughout the 19th century still stand, and have been or are now being restored by historic minded individuals The entire town being on the National Historic Registry must abide by the guidelines set up to preserve the it's architectural heritage.

Historical Significance
Located on the eastern bank of the Susquehanna River, it is a small town of about 900 people. Early in the 18th century this area became a river-crossing point and a large mill was established. By 1729, the infamous Thomas Cresap operated Smith's Ferry just north of Port Deposit, probably then known as Rock Run. Adjacent to Port Deposit, Anchor and Hope farm was acquired by the Creswell family before 1700 and was probably the area's first inn. When the family acquired the ferry operation, the village became known as Creswell's Ferry.  In 1789, John Creswell bought 88 1/2 acres along the shore from Isaac Decoo Watson  (Deed Transfer). This is considered by most to be the beginning of formation of the town of Port Deposit

The Southside land was owned by Philip Thomas. In 1811 Mr. Thomas died , his son purchased the various parcels from the heirs and had surveyor Hugh Beard draw a plat (dated October 21, 1812) for the southern part of Creswell's Ferry. It showed a 33' wide street with only a few lots on the river side. It is important to note that the Street was actually the old Susquehannock Indian trail known to all then as the "Great Road"

On December 5, 1812, by petition, Governor Winder signed a bill changing the name to Port Deposit. The town's first charter was signed by Governor Samuel Stevens on January 17, 1825. Much of the town's great prosperity during the 19th century resulted from its role as a "port of deposit" for raw materials such as flour, potatoes, whiskey, lumber, grain, and coal brought down the Susquehanna on rafts and the much larger Susquehanna Arks; Some of these Arks were as large as 90' x 30'. 

North of Port Deposit an area of the river is known as Smith Falls, It was not navigable by ship, so the town served as an exchange point where the goods could be unloaded and reloaded on ships for Baltimore and other ports. Completion of Maryland Canal in 1812 contributed toward the town's growth. The town also established itself as an important processing and distribution center, having lumber mills, gin mills, foundries, and other industries. The first bridge across the Susquehanna was built at Port Deposit. As well as the only bank between Baltimore and Philadelphia for forty years ,"The Susquehanna Bridge and Bank Company"

Port Deposit's future is anchored by her past. Due to the location the town has been locked in time, and has not been greatly affected by the cosmopolitan change that most communities evolve.  It is not uncommon to see bald eagles gracefully riding the currents off our cliffs or diving for the rich bounty of fish that migrate up-river.

Most of the information in this website, history related, was written by forward minded Port Deposit historians a hundred or more years back. Our architecture built mainly of local Port Deposit blue-hued granite is very visible in most buildings foundations.

We invite you to visit us (relax a spell) and enjoy what most of us in town consider our paradise.

Contact us

Tell us
The pages in this site were written with care, but that does not mean that we have the full story on events, people and history. Let us know so what your think.