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Way Back Machine

Stories about the way things were on the Delmarva Peninsula–the Eastern Shore of Maryland, the Eastern Shore of Virginia, and Delaware.

Oyster Dredging on the Eastern Shore
Quote of the Day

QUOTE OF THE DAY: Chesapeake Oystermen, 1887: “One of the Most Depraved Bodies of Workmen in the Country”

    This is from a report by the federal government written in 1887, at the height of the craziest and most violent oyster boomtimes that the Eastern Shore has ever seen. And hey, Somerset County, when you get to the end here, I am thinking that the writer is talking about you as the rare "respectable" and "honorable" exception to the rule--congrats! VERY STRICT…
May 30, 2016
Map with Humphrey's Lake in Salisbury on Maryland's Eastern Shore
From the BooksWay Back Machine

How a Construction Mishap Back in 1909 Helped Create Modern-Day Salisbury

This excerpt from Eastern Shore Road Trips #1: 27 One-Day Adventures on Delmarva is comes in the midst of a road trip through Salisbury, starting on the east at the Ward Museum and then running through City Park and into downtown and its Riverwalk. Do you see that giant kidney-shaped thing at the top of this old map of downtown Salisbury? That is the 40-acre Humphrey's Lake that…
May 24, 2016
Eastern Shore Painting: Maryland Crabpickers by Ruth Starr Rose
CharactersWay Back Machine

The “Socialite” Whose Art Celebrates the Life of Eastern Shore African Americans Back in the Day

The story of Ruth Starr Rose is full of bold and interesting turns. Born in the Midwest in 1887, she moved to the Eastern Shore at twentyish years old when her parents bought a dilapidated wreck of a mansion called Hope House in Talbot County. The place was chock full of history—members of the Lloyd and Tilghman families had called it home in the 1700s—but by…
January 17, 2016
CharactersWay Back Machine

The Story Behind Wild West Sharpshooter Annie Oakley’s Time on the Eastern Shore

Sharpshooters Annie Oakley and Frank Butler were already famous stars by the time they found their way to Maryland’s Eastern Shore back in 1912. In fact, they were ready at that point to call it a career and retire altogether from the traveling-Wild-West-show business. From what I’ve read, it was Butler’s idea to settle on the Shore. After visiting Cambridge on one of their endless tours…
November 1, 2015
1914 Nace's Day Parade in Trappe on Maryland's Eastern Shore
CharactersWay Back Machine

Uncle Nace’s Day: A Shore Tradition for 151 years and Counting

    There are a couple of different places along Route 50 between Easton and Cambridge to stop and consider the fascinating life of Nathaniel “Nace” Hopkins, a native son whose journey began in slavery and included stints in jail and the Union Army before he launched one of the oldest and sweetest civic traditions on the Delmarva Peninsula—Uncle Nace’s Day. Click on the cover…
October 5, 2015
Way Back Machine

The Day an Elephant Marched Through the Marshlands of Saxis

Over the centuries, several enterprising characters have tried to turn remote little Saxis on the Eastern Shore of Virginia side of Pocomoke Sound into a tourist destination. One such dreamer was Lloyd Drewer. Back in the early years of the 20th century, he built bathing houses, organized fishing trips, and sponsored various fairs and festivals. His most memorable exploit dates to the late 1930s, when he…
September 12, 2015
Way Back Machine

How a Big Hurricane on Aug. 22, 1933 Created the Ocean City We Know Today

This excerpt from Eastern Shore Road Trips #1: 27 One-Day Adventures on Delmarva is from a chapter spent wandering the boardwalk in Ocean City, Md. Ocean City dates its history back to 1875, but the resort town we know today really didn’t take shape until Aug. 22, 1933. That’s when a hellacious storm tore a hole through town and altered the course of its future forever. Nobody…
August 20, 2015
The Timothy Hill House, before and after
DestinationsWay Back Machine

How This Amazing Old House in Chincoteague Beat the Odds and Came Back to Life

  Why is it that one building manages to survive for centuries while all the others built at about the same time fall victim to the ravages of time? One of the experts who has spent some time with what is believed to be the oldest house in Chincoteague—it’s still standing after 200-plus years—chalked its survival up to a magical mix of being “well built, unusual,…
August 18, 2015