Maryland State Archives

Tilp, Frederick "Gambling on the Potomac River: The Las Vegas of the East Coast," Chesapeake Bay MagazineMarch 1987, 56-59. [JH 12/04/01]

Sisson, Elbert R. "Gambling in the Cradle," America January 7, 1961, 445-447. [JH 12/04/01]

"Southern Md. Areas that had slots are torn over new proposals, too." The Baltimore Sun, 26 January 2003.

"Va. House Wants Maryland To Keep Slots Off the Potomac." The Washington Post, 20 February 2003.

Colonial Beach, VA brochure circa 2001
map
front page
business listing

Colonial Beach, VA brochure circa 2001

It appears that the early bridges across the Potomac were built by private corporations authorized by consenting legislation between Maryland and Virginia, or West Virginia. They were often built over the sites of existing ferries and it was sometimes stipulated that the bridge company buy or pay for damages to the public ferry company. The bridges operated as toll bridges and the rates were regulated by the states.

Early research shows that the bridges were assessed by Maryland and that the assessments included the length of the bridge over the Potomac. Not included in the assessments are abuttments on the opposite shore of the bordering state.

The bridges were purchased by the State Roads Commission of Maryland and included in the State road system in the early 1900s-1940s. This is true in the case of the Hancock Bridge Company at Hancock, Maryland. The bridge company actually sold half of the bridge to Maryland and the other half to West Virginia.

This has led to additional research into potential agreements between the states concerning maintenance. I've come across several bridges crossing the Potomac that Maryland and the bordering state actually split the cost of maintenance. Apparently bridge agreements vary from bridge to bridge. There are several arrangements that include 50/50, 91/9, or 87/13 sharing of maintenance costs. [DS/ECP 11/24/01]

The State Highway Administration provided a list [on ? ] of Agreements/ Interstate Bridges that lists what SHA calls its border bridges. The list gives County, location, how cost and responsibilities are shared, and dates of agreements. When applicable, specific agreements for Potomac River Bridges will be posted.

• The Virginia and Maryland Bridge Company at Shepherdstown, Known as the James Rumsey Bridge, it carries Route 34 over the Potomac between Washington County and Jefferson County, West Virginia
• The Hancock Bridge Company at Hancock, it crosses the Potomac between Hancock, Washington County and Morgan County, West Virginia.
• The North Branch Bridge Company at Cresaptown, Crosses into Allegany County [DS/ECP 11/24/01]

  
  

MSA T2163 - CHARLES COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT (License Record)
This series covers 1878-1982. There are no other License Record Volumes after 1982 at MSA. The OAG has contacted the Charles County Circuit Court directly, and was informed by a clerk, that there are no license records between 1982-1994. As of November 24, 2001, Dr. Papenfuse and the Director of the Maryland State Archives, Records Appraisal Program, Pat Melville, summarized their findings in regard to license records for Charles County and disposal authorization certificates relating thereto:

"The timing of transfer of permanent records to the State Archives is generally up to the agency that creates the original record. It is not unusual for agencies to keep permanent records for twenty years or more depending upon reference needs. This policy places the burden of maintaining permanent records that have not been transferred to the Archives on the agency. The Archives has no resources to ensure that the agency retaining permanent records performs its duties according to law. Its only means of discovering failure to maintain permanent records is at the point of a request for transfer of permanent records, which traditionally comes when agencies run out of space or decides to undertake a general house cleaning.

The Charles County clerk's office reports that it does not have license record books for the years after 1982, the ending date for MSA T2163, even though by Records Retention and Disposal Schedules, these records are deemed permanent.[Pat: are we sure about this?] The Attorney General's office, upon being given this information, requested confirmation from the Archives.

No public records are permitted to be destroyed without the prior approval of the State Archivist and the Hall of Records Commission as determined by Records Retention and Disposal Schedules. In the case of court records, clerks must submit a proposed records disposal certificate in advance of destruction for the approval of the State Archivist and then must return a copy of the disposal certificate signed by the clerk upon completion of the approved destruction.

The first retention schedule, No. C33, dealing with Charles County license records, was signed in 1955. Item 2 authorized the destruction of license stubs and copies after 3 years or audit. The license books containing recorded license information were listed as permanent. Under this schedule one disposal certificate was filed and approved by the State Archivist and the Hall of Records Commission. As of this date (11/24/01), the certificate signed by the clerk has not been located. Certificates signed by the clerks are not returned to the Maryland State Archives but to the Records Management Division of the Department of General Services which has legal responsiblity for documenting the disposal of non-permanet records. According to the official record of approved disposition in the minutes of the Hall of Records Commission, [ECP to supply date from the HRC Minutes] the Charles County Records approved for destruction were liquor licenses, 1968-1973, and traders licenses, 1970-1971. The record volumes for those records exist and can be consulted at the Maryland State Archives.

A revised retention schedule, No. 655, applied to all district and circuit courts in the state and was approved in 1977. Section II, Item 1 specifies license record books as permanent. Section II, Item 6 makes license copies and stubs disposable after 3 years and audit. Under this schedule the Charles County clerk's office submitted 6 disposal certificates, pertaining to licenses as described in Schedule 655, Sec. II, Item 6, between 1978 and 2000. They encompass copies of liquor licenses for 1974-1975 and 1986-1990 and copies of business licenses for 1973-1976, 1986-1988, and 1991-1996.

In , when the Court transferred the 1977-1979 license volume it proved to be blank and was destroyed. The Maryland State Archives currently has no other source for license records for this time period, as the original certificates are not permanent records, per retention schedule No. 655.

It would appear that the Court chose to discontinue recording licenses in permanent record form [between 1982 and 1994? the present?--Pat: are they doing what they should be doing now? Have we approved any further destruction of original license records?]. The Clerk's signature on the disposal certificate for the original licenses constitutes an assurance that the permanent records were being maintained, clearly something the agency failed to do for [ ] years.
[PM 11/9/01; ECP 11/24/01]"

[JH 11/21/01; ECP 11/24/01]

MSA T3021 - ST. MARY'S COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT (License Record)
This transfer consists of one volume, DBK 7, which covers 1970-1980. Unlike License Record volumes for Charles County, businesses in St. Mary's County have muliple entries throughout this volume, one under each type of license the business received, and for each year they received it. Upon examing this volume on 11/7/2001, it became evident that it contains only beer, wine, and liquor licenses from 1970-1980. The recordation of all other types licenses in this volume ends after 1971 [JH to clarify what this means]. No additional information is known as of 11/21/01 regarding the availability of records beyond 1971 at the St. Mary's County Circuit Court. [JH 11/21/01; ecp 11/24/01]