Town of the Week

Come with us to Havre de Grace, Maryland; just listen in.

Havre de Grace, Maryland
January 9, 1999

Perched, Poised, Perfect. The most photographed and painted building in this Maryland seacoast town is the lighthouse on Concord Point. It's also the oldest lighthouse in continuous use on the East coast. Havre de Grace has been a hub for commerce and recreational activities on the Upper Chesapeake Bay for more than 160 years.

The town got its name at the recommendation of General LaFayette, and is French for harbor of mercy. Havre de Grace is the Southern terminal of the Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal, and the locktender's house is one of the town's many museums. There's also the Maritime Museum, the Havre de Grace Decoy Museum, and the Steppingstone Museum, on the site of a working farm.

Overlooking the bay is beautiful Tydings Park, named for the town's most famous son, Senator Millard Tydings, who was a high school Warrior. With a population of 12,000, Havre de Grace is located 39 miles northeast of Baltimore in Harford County.

Its historic district of some 800 buildings provides an interesting walking tour, because many of these structures were shelled by the British in 1813. A lone cannon at Concord Point commanded by John O'Neill fired back. He was taken prisoner and released after the war. Sixteen years later, O'Neill was given the honor of being the keeper of the lighthouse when it was built, a tradition that lasted for three generations of O'Neills. It's our Town of the Week, Havre de Grace, Maryland.