History

In March 1936, widespread flooding along streams and rivers in the Eastern United States affected towns in West Virginia and Western Maryland, including Berkeley Springs, Cumberland, Frostburg, Paw Paw, Big Pool, Williamsport, and Point of Rocks. Maryland National Guard personnel of the 104^th Photo Section of the 29^th Division Aviation departed from Logan Field to fly over the area to photograph and observe conditions. Among the crew was Master Sergeant Clarence Beckett, who made the photographs in this collection.

Collection Origin

Gift of Mollie Beckett Carrick, 1990 (002947, 002948).

Scope and Contents

The collection consists of 1 box with 5 folders containing 17 photoprints made ca. 1935-1940 by Clarence Beckett of the Maryland National Guard 104^th Photo Section of the 29^th Division Aviation. The images are aerial views of Maryland, including the inner harbor and downtown Baltimore, the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, and Fort McHenry. There are many aerial views of sites affected by flooding along the Potomac River in March 1936, including Hancock, Big Pool, Williamsport, and Point of Rocks, Maryland.

Some images show planes including a Pan American Airlines x14714 plane, a Martin 130 series seaplane and prototype of the "China Clipper" used by Pan Am. There are also pictures of an unidentified monoplane after crashing in a field in August 1940.

Digital Images

View all digital images for this collection.

Arrangement

The photographs are arranged according to PP catalog numbers.

Container List
Click on hypertext links below to view full-size digital images where available; click here to browse all digital images for this collection - thumbnail and full-size images.
 

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1 Box

Box 1: 5 Folders

Box 1, Folder 1
PP144.1 - Pan American Airlines x14714 plane flying over water and land, ca. 1935.

PP144.2 - Fort McHenry, aerial view, ca. 1935.

PP144.3 - U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md., aerial view, ca. 1935.
 

Box 1, Folder 2
PP144.4-.6 - Flooding at Hancock, Md., aerial view, 1936. Dup/copy neg Z24.1426.
 

Box 1, Folder 3
PP144.7 - Flooding at Big Pool, Md., aerial view, 1936.

PP144.8 - Flooding at Williamsport, Md., aerial view, 1936.

PP144.9 - Flooding at Point of Rocks, Md., aerial view, 1936.
 

Box 1, Folder 4
PP144.10-.11 - Flooding at Point of Rocks, Md., aerial view, 1936.

PP144.12 - Downtown Baltimore, aerial view with harbor, piers and power plant in foreground, 1937.
 

Box 1, Folder 5
PP144.13-17 - Following the crash of an unidentified monoplane at edge of a field near an airport, 1940. Shows plane overall and in detail, with people standing around the crash site. © 2001 Maryland Historical Society - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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