Aberdeen Proving Ground in Harford County, Maryland — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

Site of Old Baltimore

c. 1670

Photographed by Bill Pfingsten, August 13, 2013

1. Site of Old Baltimore Marker

Inscription. Here beside Bush River was county seat of Baltimore County, then largely wilderness including what is now Harford County. By 1676 Courthouse had been built. About ¼ mile south of surviving cemetery of Phillips family. (Here is buried Martha Paca Phillips, sister of William Paca, signer of Declaration of Independence.) In 1683 Maryland Assembly made this village a port of entry for transatlantic vessels. By 1693 court had moved west to "Simm's Choice" on Gunpowder River, relocating again in 1712 at what is now Joppatowne. Present Baltimore City on the Patapsco was founded in 1729.

Erected by Citizens of Harford County.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Colonial Era • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1670.

Location. 39° 24.445′ N, 76° 14.532′ W. Marker is in Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, in Harford County. It can be reached from Old Baltimore Road near Chilbury Point. Marker is in a restricted area of Aberdeen Proving Ground and no longer accessible to the public. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office

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area: Aberdeen Proving Ground MD 21005, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Baltimore Metro Region

and in Central Maryland.

It is also in the American Mid-Atlantic,

in the Chesapeake Bay Region,

and on the Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once one of the original Thirteen Colonies

and also the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 5 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Captain John Smith (approx. 3½ miles away); a different marker also named Site of “Old Baltimore” (approx. 3½ miles away); Gov. William Paca (approx. 4.1 miles away); Cokesbury College (approx. 4.1 miles away); Sophia’s Dairy (approx. 4½ miles away); Harford Town (approx. 4.6 miles away); This Tablet (approx. 4.7 miles away); "The Bush Declaration" (approx. 4.7 miles away).

Another marker is no longer nearby. Cokesbury College (was approx. 4.2 miles away but has been confirmed missing).

Credits. This page was last revised on February 21, 2021. It was originally submitted on January 25, 2019, by Bill Pfingsten of Bel Air, Maryland. This page has been viewed 1,195 times since then and 92 times this year. Last updated on April 30, 2020, by Carl Gordon Moore Jr. of North East, Maryland. Photo 1. submitted on January 25, 2019, by Bill Pfingsten of Bel Air, Maryland.