Editing Havre de Grace, Maryland (section)

=== 19th century ===
{{See also|Raid on Havre de Grace}}
On May 3, 1813, during the [[War of 1812]], [[British Empire|British]] forces led by [[Sir George Cockburn, 10th Baronet|Sir George Cockburn]] executed a [[raid on Havre de Grace]], routing the American militiamen defending it and burning large parts of the village.<ref>{{cite book|title=Maryland History In Prints 1743-1900|first=Laura|last=Rich|page=42}}</ref> American Lieutenant [[John O'Neill (lighthouse keeper)|John O'Neill]] single-handedly manned a cannon to help defend the town. He was wounded, captured by the British, and quickly released. In gratitude, Havre de Grace made O'Neill and his descendants the hereditary keepers of the [[Concord Point Light|Concord Point lighthouse]], which marks the mouth of the Susquehanna River.

The early industry of Havre de Grace included [[oyster]] and [[crab]] harvesting. Extensive fruit orchards were cultivated in and near the town. Products were shipped to markets along the East Coast and upriver.

The town was the southern terminus for the Proprietors of the Susquehanna Canal and later the [[Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal]]. This was built to bypass difficult navigational areas of the lower Susquehanna River between Havre de Grace and [[Wrightsville, Pennsylvania]], where it connected to the [[Pennsylvania Canal]]. It was built between 1836 and 1840. Operations on the canal declined after 1855 because of competition from [[railroads]], which could carry freight more quickly. The Lock Keeper's house and remnants of the canal exist today as a museum.

Havre de Grace was a primary town on the Eastern route of the [[Underground Railroad]] in Maryland, as refugee slaves could cross the Susquehanna to havens in the free state of Pennsylvania, traveling on to Philadelphia and New York.<ref name="Switala2004">{{cite book|last=Switala|first=William J.|title=Underground Railroad in Delaware, Maryland, and West Virginia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FxFRvbFeh9kC&pg=PA83|access-date=March 24, 2014|year=2004|publisher=Stackpole Books|isbn=9780811731430|pages=83–85}}</ref> Prior to 1840, escaped slaves from communities along the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay came to Havre de Grace and often took the [[ferry]] across the Susquehanna River to safe sites in [[Lancaster County, Pennsylvania|Lancaster]] and [[Chester County, Pennsylvania|Chester]] counties in Pennsylvania.<ref name="Siebert1898">{{cite book|last=Siebert|first=Wilbur Henry|title=The Underground Railroad from Slavery to Freedom|url=https://archive.org/details/undergroundrail02siebgoog|access-date=March 24, 2014|year=1898|publisher=Macmillan Company|page=[https://archive.org/details/undergroundrail02siebgoog/page/n184 121]|isbn=9780665136177 }}</ref> When "vigilance increased at the ferry", the African-American refugees were guided upriver to cross to [[Columbia, Pennsylvania]], a town established by abolitionist Quakers.<ref name="Calarco2011">{{cite book|last=Calarco|first=Tom|title=Places of the Underground Railroad: A Geographical Guide|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=muBtFTkFH_EC&pg=PA363|access-date=March 24, 2014|year=2011|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=9780313381461|page=363}}</ref> Because Havre de Grace had varied transportation across the river, refugees were often successful in making their way to the North.

In the 19th century, Havre de Grace became known for [[duck hunting]], and was a seasonal destination for hunters. They stayed at the town hotels and hired local guides to escort them hunting on the river and along the bay. Local artisans became known for making high quality [[decoy]]s, which they carved and painted. Prime examples are displayed today at the Decoy Museum of the city.

By the 1860s, a large population of free African Americans had settled in the town. It had enough business to support independent artisans, and numerous jobs associated with shipping on the river and canal and, increasingly, with the railroads. During the American Civil War, this town was one of seven sites where the Army recruited for volunteers for the [[U.S. Colored Troops]], composed of African-American men. Although located in the [[Tidelands|tidewater]] area of Harford County, which still had large plantations and slaveholders, the city's river and canals tied it to northern industry and trade in Pennsylvania and beyond. These provided urban jobs for free blacks, and the town had a strong proportion of Northern sympathizers among whites.{{citation needed|date=November 2008}}

In 1878, the town became a city and established its own government. Shortly after 1878, Stephen J. Seneca opened a fruit-packing factory in the S. J. Seneca Warehouse, with a tin can factory next to Havre de Grace Waterfront. Seneca made improvements to canning with his patents, such as the "Can-soldering machines" of 1889,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://patents.google.com/patent/US414728?oq=havre+de+grace|title=Patent US414728 - Can-soldering machine|work=google.com}}</ref> and 1891.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://patents.google.com/patent/US452584?oq=havre+de+grace|title=Patent US452584 - Can-soldering machine|work=google.com}}</ref> By 1899, Seneca had become a canned goods broker. The first railroad was constructed along St. Clair Street (now Pennington Ave.) to the river, so Seneca's factory was well-positioned for both water and rail shipping. Up until the Second World War, many farmers in Harford County brought their produce to the Seneca Factory (later run as Stockhams Cannery). S.J. Seneca lived at 200 North Union Ave., served as Mayor of Havre de Grace (1893-1894), and donated funds and land to build the Methodist Church.<ref>http://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/stagsere/se1/se5/014000/014400/014451/pdf/msa_se5_14451.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}}</ref>

The Seneca cannery, now adapted for use as an antique shop, is a very good example of a late 19th-century brick industrial building. It has a severely classical facade and massive stone buttresses at the rear.<ref name="HA_814">{{cite web |title=HA-814 |url=https://mht.maryland.gov/secure/medusa/PDF/Harford/HA-814.pdf |website=Maryland Historical Trust |access-date=May 31, 2021}}</ref>