According to the Harford County Directory of 1953, "The Hospital of Harford County was founded by a group of civic-minded citizens who gathered together for the first time on March 15, 1911. The objective set forth by this group was:

"For the purpose of establishing, maintaining and conducting a hospital in the City of Havre de Grace for benevolent and charitable purposes, for the treatment of persons injured and afflicted with disease and sickness and that it was a voluntary association instituted solely for these objects and not with pecuniary gain."

The hospital began receiving its first patients in January of 1912. The building was formerly owned by George A. Baker and stood on a property now incorporated into the present Harford Memorial Hospital. Then, with enthusiastic public support, the Havre de Grace Hospital opened its doors in 1918. A photograph of the "Old Havre de Grace Hospital" appears in the Directory. The building has all the features of a late-Victorian structure, complete with wrap-around porches and an octagonal tower with a pepper-pot roof.

In 1942, the Havre de Grace Hospital was renamed Harford Memorial Hospital. In 1944, a new structure was completed. Since then, there have been several additions and changes to the facilities. Harford Memorial is now part of Upper Chesapeake Health.

Resource: Harford County Directory: a Reference Book of History, Business, and General Information, 1953.

Compiled by the staff of the Harford County Public Library