The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1855-02-17
Original 4alisfcIlanp.
Correspondence of The Cecil Wing
CECIL COUNTY
IT'S POSITION, POPULATION, &C.

| I
10 the Editor Of TIE Cecil Hhig;-Dsar
Sir noticed in one Of your papers an in
tcrcsting article on the population of Cecil
county. / have not the paper by me, and
| cannot now remember the exact numbers:
! but the growth of your county for seventy
| years has been very slow: sometimes dccrcas-
ing in population from one census to another;
and i'll 1850 if | remember right your popu-
lation was only about eighteen thousand
Cecil county was originally d fine body Of
land, with great advantages Of situation,
being central between two noble cities. and
washed by one Of the most beautiful Bays in
| the world -ind'nttl with several fine rivers,
or incts from the Chesapeake Bay-carrying
| shipping into the interior of the county
SasSaflas, the Bohemia and the Elk are fine
rivcrs-cach nearly crossing Cecil county.
and each suppose would float a Nan of War
Frigatc. The Bay of Charcstown is a beau.
tifnl Bay, and last the Sl,squchanna is a no.
BILE stream. After coursing quietly in New
York and Pennsylvania States for two hun
dred and fifty miles, it passes over falls, or
rather rapids until it looscs itselfin the Chcs-
arcakc Bay. BY the by Mr.. Editor, this
river never ought to have lost itself in the
Chesapeake Bay-it should have continued
to be the Susquchanna Bay. This river is
the main fresh water feeder of the Bay.
Although other fine rivers fall into the Ches-
apcakc, yet they all united would bear no
comparison with the Susquchanna, and the
Bay ought to have been called for the river.
In travelling from Conowingo to Elkton, ]
have remarked that all the streams of the
upper part of your county tumble over rapids
or falls to meet the Bay Conowingo, Octo-
raro, and Rock Run, rush over rapids. Prin-
cipio, North Fast and some other small
streams, pitch over slnall falls al 4 rapids
Gilpin's Falls on North East Creek is a ro-
mantle sight: well worth viewing. The
waters Of the Little Elk creek toll and strug-
gle over the rocks for miles before meeting
the tide. Big Elk creek has much less fall,
but it produces fine water powers. The
streams rising i'll the alluvial land, meet the
tide quietly, and almost i,nperccptabIy.
Mr.. Editor, will you excuse rambling
correspondent. commenced this with the
intention of comparing your population with
that of Bradford county, and noticing some
of the reasons Of your slow increase.
Bradford county. Pa, was erected into a
county in 1872; with :. population of four
thousand inhabitants-at that time you had
fourteen thousand inhabitants. Now we
have fifty thousand. and you have perhaps
twenty thousand. This is the more remark
able as the citizens Of Bradford county arc
nearly all agricuIturists. We have no Iron,
Cotton, or Paper Manufactures How then
is it that we increase so fast compared with
Cecil county? There may be many reasons
| will notice one. In Cecil county, and in
decd in all Maryland and Virginia, no young
man is willing to marry. unless he can place
his wife in as good, or better situation than
she occupied at her fathers. If he has to
commence the world without fortune and
labor with his hands, he will not do il
amongst his acquaintance he will cmgratc
to the West or some new country. You may
call this pride, or honor: but it carries the
population away from the South Hundreds
of the most refined, and the very best of
females in your county, live and die single
Here it is not so. All marry. Indeed do
not this day know either an old maid, or an
old bachelor in this county. This is surely
a plain reason for part of the advantage We
have of you in population. A. FARMER.
BRADFORD County, Pa, Feb. 5, '55.