History Eastern Shore of Maryland

1 history

1.1 history

1.1.1 formation of counties


1.2 later history

history

queen anne s county courthouse


early history

william claiborne granted land (part of colony of virginia) in 1629 , named land kent county . in 1631, sailed north chesapeake bay south , west side area known today kent island. there made fortified settlement considered first english settlement within province of maryland. talbot county formed in 1662. cecil county formed in 1674, proclamation of governor, eastern portions of baltimore county , northern portion of kent county. wicomico county formed in 1867, 9th , last county, created somerset , worcester counties.

formation of counties

1642 kent county-in 1642, governor , council appointed commissioners isle , county of kent. act appears have led establishment of kent county, name after kent county, england.
1661 talbot county- named lady grace talbot, wife of sir robert talbot, irish statesman, , sister of cecilius calvert, 2nd baron baltimore.
1666 somerset county-named mary, lady somerset, wife of sir john somerset , daughter of thomas arundell, 1st baron arundell of wardour.
1669 dorchester county-named earl of dorset, family friend of calverts (the founding family of maryland colony).
1674 cecil county.
1706 queen anne s county- formed northern parts of talbot , southern portions of kent. name after queen anne of great britain reigned when county established.
1742 worcester county-named earl of worcester.
1773 caroline county- formed parts of dorchester , queen anne s counties. county derives name lady caroline eden, wife of maryland s last colonial governor of province of maryland, robert eden.
1867 wicomico county.

later history

chesapeake bay maritime museum in st. michaels

ocean city founded on july 4, 1875, when atlantic hotel opened on assateague island. @ time, assateague island continuous delaware state line south of ocean city: ocean city inlet not formed until hurricane in august 1933 cut across south end of town, although inlet cut not waves sweeping inland, 4 or 5 days worth of freshwater runoff coastal creeks running seaward. 1935, government money had built jetties make inlet permanent, dividing fenwick island (north) assateague island (south). transportation island train.

until 1820s, travel , commerce between eastern shore , baltimore less important connections between , philadelphia. water travel sailboat , steamer linked eastern shore baltimore more tightly beginning 1813, when first steamboat traveled bay. 1880s, railroad lines linked eastern shore philadelphia , later, norfolk, virginia, way of railroad line straight south wilmington dover, delmar, salisbury, , cape charles. maryland s eastern shore served branch lines running southwest main route. see list of railroad lines in delmarva peninsula. eastern shore s many branchlines built after civil war local companies; controlled pennsylvania railroad (which bought control of steamboat , ferry routes), conrail , norfolk southern. today remaining active railroad tracks on eastern shore operated short-line railroads bay coast railroad, delmarva central railroad, , maryland , delaware railroad.

an east-west rail route ran ferry terminal @ claiborne, west of st. michaels, ocean city, via baltimore , eastern shore railroad , wicomico , pocomoke railroad. travelers take ferry love point on kent island, board queen anne s railroad train, , travel east lewes , rehoboth beach, delaware.

automobile transportation across chesapeake bay ferryboat until 1952, when first chesapeake bay bridge opened traffic.

in late 1950s , 1960s developers began selling lots on assateague island, south of inlet. however, storm on march 6, 1962 destroyed houses, shacks, , roads. state , federal governments intervened before reconstruction creating assateague island national seashore , assateague state park.

an eastern shore baseball league operated on 3 different occasions between 1922 , 1949. class d minor league teams in 3 states of delmarva.

during epidemic of hiv/aids in united states, baltimore city health department official robert mehl persuaded city s mayor form committee address food problems; baltimore-based charity moveable feast grew out of initiative in 1990. 2010, organization s region of service had expanded merely baltimore include of eastern shore of maryland.