What's Open, Closed In Bel Air, Across Harford Co. For Juneteenth 2023

BEL AIR, MD — Juneteenth falls on Monday, June 19, as a national holiday commemorating the day in 1865, more than two years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, when word finally reached the last enslaved people in Texas that the Civil War had ended, and they were free.

Also known as Emancipation Day, Freedom Day and Jubilee Day, Juneteenth is the oldest-known celebration of the end of slavery in the United States. In 2021, President Joe Biden signed legislation making it a federal holiday, the first since the addition of Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1983.

• Related: What Is Juneteenth? Celebrating The End Of Slavery

Because Juneteenth is an official U.S. holiday, many banks, federal offices and post offices in Harford County will be closed Monday. State, county and local government offices will be closed as well. The Harford Waste Disposal Center, Tollgate Yard trim drop-off facility and the administrative office will be closed on Monday. Residents should check with their private garbage collectors to check on their hours and schedule.