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In the early 20th century, several fires swept through the downtown area, notably in 1900 and 1942. In 1972, another fire struck, decimating the east side of Main Street and causing $2 million in damage.
In 1970, the notorious H. Rap Brown, a member of the Black Panthers, was charged with instigating a riot after a rally in Cambridge; a change in venue brought his trial to Bel Air. In an attempt to assassinate Brown, radicals drove to Bel Air in a car laden with plastic explosives, intending to take down the courthouse. The car exploded prematurely, about a mile from the courthouse, and left a crater in the road . The trial was eventually moved again.
Into the 1950s, Bel Air boasted a regionally featured horse track, which stood where the Harford Mall is today.
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