Elkton was once known as the Gretna Green of the East of the US because of its popularity as a place for eloping couples to marry.

[9] On March 8, 1781, the Marquis de Lafayette embarked his troops there to attempt a capture of Benedict Arnold.

[12] The landmark historic home, Holly Hall was built by James Sewall in the 1810s and quickly became a regional seat for important dignitaries and local politics.

[13][better source needed] When northern states began to pass more restrictive marriage laws in the early 20th century, Maryland did not.

As a result, a number of Maryland towns near borders with other states became known as places to get married quickly and without many restrictions, or "Gretna Greens".

[14] Elkton, being the northeastern most county seat in Maryland (and thus closer to Philadelphia, New York, and New England), was particularly popular.

[15][18] While some of the marriages obtained in Elkton were of celebrities or celebrities-to-be (Cornel Wilde, Joan Fontaine, Debbie Reynolds, Martha Raye, John and Martha Mitchell, Willie Mays, and Pat Robertson all got married in Elkton),[15] the overall tawdry flavor grew to be too much for the state.

A 48-hour waiting period was imposed in 1938, but Elkton continued to be a place to marry, and especially elope; it simply took longer.

[19] The year before the Maryland Legislature enacted a 48-hour waiting period, the marriage bureau in the town of about 3,300 people issued 16,054 licenses.

The waiting period could be lifted, for instance, if the "mother was expecting", or if a young man was preparing to go off to war.

[20] In time, Las Vegas became the new "American Gretna Green", although hundreds of people still came to Elkton.

But an era faded in the northeastern Maryland county seat when the last commercial wedding chapel closed in 2017.

The crash was listed in the 2005 Guinness World Records as the "Worst Lightning Strike Death Toll.

"[22][nb 1] A small memorial marks the site of the crash, the worst loss of life accident in Maryland.

The Boeing 707 had gone down in a cornfield on the eastern edge of the town, and in 1994 a granite memorial was placed at Delancy Road and Wheelhouse Drive.

[24] The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters.

To the west, US 40 heads to North East and Perryville while eastward, it joins up with U.S. Route 13 beyond Glasgow, Delaware.

Maryland Route 213 passes north–south through Elkton along Bridge Street, heading south to Chesapeake City and north to Fair Hill.

It is accessible via an interchange with MD 279, from which point it heads south toward Baltimore and Washington, D.C., and north toward Wilmington and Philadelphia.

The Cross-County Connection (Route 2) runs Monday through Saturday between Elkton, North East, Cecil College, Perryville (town and the Perryville station along MARC's Penn Line) and Perry Point Veteran's Medical Center.