Harford County canning industry collection

The canning industry in Harford County, Maryland began during the 1860s and became a large employer in the county, while supporting local farms and their products. The county’s proximity to Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Washington DC provided large markets. Between 1880 and 1959 there were about 700 identifiable canning companies. Harford County mainly produced canned corn and tomatoes, and canneries would often loan farmers money to buy seed and supplies. Larger canneries established banks to support the industry.

However, canning in Harford County declined following the 1917 establishment of Aberdeen Proving Ground, a United States Army facility established for research, development, testing munitions, equipment, and technology, which eliminated 500 acres of farming land and canning operations. Many farmers began raising dairy cows rather than farming vegetables. The last can of Harford County corn was shipped in 1999.

John M. Michael was born in 1857 in Harford County. Michael attended public schools in Aberdeen, Maryland and finished his education in 1878 at Bryant and Stratton Business College in Buffalo, New York. In 1881 Michael began farming on a 300-acre tract of land in Oakington, a 1400-acre peninsula between Aberdeen and Havre de Grace in Harford County, Maryland, where he also began the John M. Michael Co. canned corn operation. Michael was known for growing the Shoepeg sweet corn variety.

Additionally, he served for 28 years as a director for the First National Bank of Aberdeen and helped organize the Citizens National Bank of Havre de Grace, where he was president from 1909 until his death. He also served as president of the Harford Agricultural and Breeders Association.

During World War II, most of the family’s farmland was purchased by the US Government for the expansion of Aberdeen Proving Ground. Michael died on August 20, 1921. Following Michael’s death, his daughter, Florence Michael Pusey (1887-1981) and her husband, Joel B. Pusey (1888-1965), carried on the family’s business.