Editing Aberdeen, Maryland (section)

== History ==
Aberdeen was named after [[Aberdeen|Aberdeen, Scotland]], by immigrating [[Scottish American|Scots]].{{Citation needed|date=December 2013}}

The [[James B. Baker House]], [[Chestnut Ridge (Aberdeen, Maryland)|Chestnut Ridge]], [[Griffith House (Aberdeen, Maryland)|Griffith House]], [[Poplar Hill (Aberdeen, Maryland)|Poplar Hill]], [[Sophia's Dairy]], and [[Swansbury]] are listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>

===Early settlements===
Aberdeen began as a farming community in 1720, when [[Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore|Charles Calvert, the fifth Lord Baltimore]], granted 1,140 acres of fertile land to Edward Hall. Located on the western edge of the Chesapeake on the main road between Alexandria and Philadelphia called the Old Post Road, the village at Halls Cross Road remained small until the [[Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad]] scouted the area for a watering station in 1835. One of the railroad companies engineers was Edmund Law Rogers who saw the great potential in the place for development.

===Village of Aberdeen===
The Village of Aberdeen was a development by Edmund Law Rogers around 1800.<ref name=EB/>  The name originated from its mother city, Aberdeen, Scotland, as a result of the close relationship the Rogers family of Baltimore had with their cousin, the [[George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen|Earl of Aberdeen]], who became [[Prime Minister of Great Britain]] in 1852.<ref>[Plat of Aberdeen, Edmund Law Rogers. 1852]</ref> The area now known as Aberdeen is a cluster of three communities<ref name="aberdeenroom.com">[http://www.aberdeenroom.com/aberdeenroom/exhibits.html The Aberdeen Room – Exhibits – Aberdeen: Its Three Components]</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.mdgenweb.org/harford/aberdeen.html |title=Harford County, MDGenWeb – Aberdeen |access-date=2008-04-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080820082618/http://www.mdgenweb.org/harford/aberdeen.html |archive-date=2008-08-20 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* Hall's Cross Roads, located<ref>[http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=1258 Historical Marker DataBase – Halls' Cross Roads]</ref> at the intersection of Old Philadelphia Road (MD-7, in some places known as Old Post Road, then known as Philadelphia Post Road) and Bush River Neck Road<ref>[http://www.aberdeenroom.com/aberdeenroom/walking.html Historic Tour of Hall's Cross Roads]</ref> (then the main road from Swan Creek {{coord|39|31|28.41|N|76|8|17.75|W|type:city}})
* Mechanicsville, located<ref>[http://maryland.hometownlocator.com/maps/BIGmap,n,Mechanicsville%20%28historical%29,FID,1698243.cfm Mechanicsville (historical) in Harford County, MD]</ref> at {{coord|39|36|7.3836|N|76|19|10.8516|W|type:city}}
*The Village of Aberdeen<ref name="aberdeenroom.com"/>

===As a town===
In 1892, Aberdeen was incorporated as a town, under Chapter 136 of the Acts of 1892.<ref>[http://www.msa.md.gov/msa/mdmanual/37mun/aberdeen/html/a.html Aberdeen Municipality, Harford County, Maryland]</ref>

====Board of commissioners====
Upon incorporation as a town, the Aberdeen government was led by a [[Commissioners#United States|board of commissioners]].<ref>[http://www.msa.md.gov/msa/mdmanual/37mun/aberdeen/html/amayors.html Aberdeen Board Presidents and Mayors]</ref>

* From 1892 to 1905, a board [[President (government title)#Sub-national|president]] was elected annually by the commissioners.
* From 1906 to 1954, this election was changed to be [[wikt:biennial|biennial]].
* From 1955 to 1992, the election of a board president was changed back to be annual.

In 1992, the Town of Aberdeen revised its charter and became the City of Aberdeen with an elected mayor. 
The first mayor of the City of Aberdeen was Ruth Elliot. The second mayor was Doug Wilson, and Fred Simmons was elected mayor in 2005. Michael Bennett served as mayor from 2007 to 2015. In 2015, Patrick McGrady was elected mayor of Aberdeen and is currently serving a four-year term.

===As a city===
In 1992, Aberdeen was incorporated as a city.

===2018 shooting=== 
{{Main|Aberdeen, Maryland shooting}}

On September 20, 2018, 26-year-old [[Snochia Moseley]] opened fire at a [[Rite Aid]] warehouse where he temporarily worked. He killed three people and injured three others before turning the gun on himself.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/09/20/maryland-shooting-multiple-victims-reported-business-park/1366698002/|title=Female shooter Snochia Moseley, 26, guns down 3 at Aberdeen, Maryland, warehouse before killing herself|author=Doug Stanglin and Esteban Perra|work=[[USA Today]]|agency=Associated Press|date=September 20, 2018|access-date=April 21, 2020}}</ref>