Port Deposit is a town in Cecil County, Maryland, United States. It is located on the east bank of the Susquehanna River near its discharge into the Chesapeake Bay. As of the 2020 census, Port Deposit had a population of 614.

Geography

left|thumb|240px|Main Street in historic Port Deposit

Port Deposit is located at (39.610915, -76.100172).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which is land and is water.

It is the westernmost incorporated municipality in Cecil County, as well as in the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Metropolitan Statistical Area, better known as the Delaware Valley.

History

Early history

The first recorded European visits to the area were the 1608 and 1609 expeditions led by Captain John Smith up the Chesapeake Bay. He sailed about up the Susquehanna River to the present location of Port Deposit, and gave the name of "Smythe Fayles" to the rapids just above the future town.

The upper ferry

right|thumb|240px|Historic buildings in Port Deposit

In 1729, Thomas Cresap established a regular ferry service near Smith's Falls (in the upper Port Deposit area) crossing the Susquehanna to Lapidum; this was referred to as Smith's Ferry or Upper Ferry. In 1731, a road from Susquehanna Upper Ferry toward Philadelphia, as far as the jurisdiction extends, was authorized. In the same year, in the jurisdiction south of the river, a petition was submitted for a road from the mill at 'Rock Run' to Peach Bottom, Pennsylvania. This upper ferry was later purchased by Colonel John Creswell and came to be known as 'Creswell's Ferry'.

This location, and Lapidum across the river, were the northernmost navigable deepwater ports on the Susquehanna. River barges and wagons loaded with lumber, grain, coal, whiskey, tobacco, and other goods floated downriver to this "port of deposit", where cargo could be transferred to ships from the Chesapeake. In the early days, it was difficult to float goods downriver, since there were many rapids and hazards, but it remained the most convenient way for goods to leave much of the country drained by the Susquehanna above the falls. Further, since a number of roads converged at the ferry crossing, goods could be carted or "rolled."

As early as the 1790s, the forests on the Susquehanna were being logged and the timbers floated downriver to points near the ferry landing. In 1812, the town was platted as Creswell's Landing; months later, Governor Levin Winder signed a bill officially naming the town Port Deposite (it would lose the trailing "e" at some point in the future). for bridges. The general area had been the site for granite quarrying before the bridge was constructed as there was use of this specific granite in buildings constructed before the Revolutionary War. This granite can be seen in many of the distinctive buildings in Port Deposit today.

National Register of Historic Places listing

thumb|right|Washington Hall as viewed from the Washington section of [[Amtrak's Broadway Limited in 1974.]]

The entire town of Port Deposit was listed as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places on May 23, 1978. Starting from Bainbridge Road on the south, the district extends about 1.4 miles north along US 222 to the quarry at the north end of town.

The town has several impressive older buildings, many built of the local granite or brick. The oldest structures in the historic district date from 1725, with the majority built from 1830 through the 1890s.

Transportation

thumb|left|MD 222 southbound in Port Deposit

The present-day primary method of transportation to and from Port Deposit is by road. Maryland Route 222 passes through the center of town along Main Street, connecting northwards to U.S. Route 1 near Conowingo Dam and southward to Perryville and Interstate 95, which is the nearest Interstate highway. Both US 1 and I-95 head north towards Philadelphia and south towards Baltimore. Maryland Route 276 also serves Port Deposit, heading northeast towards Rising Sun.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 653 people, 265 households, and 153 families living in the town. The population density was . There were 429 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 82.8% White, 11.9% African American, 1.4% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 0.6% from other races, and 2.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.2% of the population.

There were 265 households, of which 26.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.8% were married couples living together, 14.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 7.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 42.3% were non-families. 30.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.89.

The median age in the town was 39.4 years. 19.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 10.2% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 26.8% were from 25 to 44; 32.8% were from 45 to 64; and 10.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 53.9% male and 46.1% female.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 676 people, 264 households, and 163 families living in the town. The population density was . There were 402 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 78.85% White, 17.75% African American, 0.44% Native American, 0.59% Asian, 0.59% from other races, and 1.78% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.63% of the population.

There were 264 households, out of which 29.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.1% were married couples living together, 21.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.9% were non-families. 29.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.08.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 27.5% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 28.4% from 25 to 44, 26.8% from 45 to 64, and 9.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 109.3 males. For every 100 women age 18 and over, there were 100.0 men.

The median income for a household in the town was $34,167, and the median income for a family was $37,813. Males had a median income of $32,083 versus $21,932 for females. The per capita income for the town was $15,297. About 19.4% of families and 22.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 35.4% of those under age 18 and 12.8% of those age 65 or over.

Notable residents

  • Henry Lee Lucas lived briefly in Benjamins Trailer Park
  • John Conard (1773–1857) served in the U.S. House of Representatives and settled near Port Deposit for 1834–1851 after retiring from politics.
  • Jacob Tome
  • Joseph Irwin France (1873–1939) taught at the Tome School in Port Deposit for a period and later was a United States Senator(1917–1923).
  • John A. J. Creswell (born 1828 in Port Deposit) was a United States Senator (1865–1867) and United States Postmaster General (1869 and 1874).
  • James Devereux (1903–1988), who attended the Tome School, was a Marine General during the defense of Wake Island in December 1941 and later served in the United States House of Representatives (1951–1959).
  • Sarah Collins Fernandis (1863–1951), social worker, educator, poet, born in Port Deposit
  • Admiral Frank B. Kelso II (1933–2013), who later became Chief of Naval Operations, served as Commanding Officer, U.S. Naval Nuclear Power School at the nearby U.S. Naval Training Center Bainbridge from 1969 to 1971.
  • Clara Dutton Noyes (1869–1936) was born in Port Deposit. She headed the Red Cross Nursing Division during World War I, enlisting more than 20,000 nurses to duty overseas, and received many international medals and honors for her work.
  • Martha Tracy Owler (born 1852 in Port Deposit) was a journalist and writer

See also

  • Tome School
  • United States Naval Training Center Bainbridge

References

  • Local history and photographs
  • Town Council
  • Chamber of Commerce
  • , including photo from 1997, at Maryland Historical Trust