Exploring Talbot County, Maryland: A Step Back in Time

Introduction

As I steered the car into the tiny town of Oxford, Maryland (population about 600), I began to relax. My breathing slowed, my body slouched and I noticed that my wife Fyllis seated beside me was having the same reaction.

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Welcome to Talbot County, Maryland where visitors are immersed in chapters of the past in meaningful ways. The destination offers a deep dive into intriguing stories of people and places. The fact that the highest elevation change there is only about 80 feet made us feel comfortable about getting around by foot. Sidewalks are wide and welcoming, shops and restaurants are accessible and getting around by strolling or rolling is easy.

The Native Americans who walked in the area were followed by Captain John Smith, who surveyed the region in 1608. The first English settlers arrived in the 1630s and established tobacco plantations. Many early immigrants were Quakers or Puritans seeking a haven from persecution, or people from Ireland and Scotland who came as indentured servants. Adding to the mix were free and enslaved African-Americans.

Each town has a museum which relates its historical tale, and they are easily accessible. The Tilghman Watermen's Museum celebrates the work and culture of people who earn their livelihood on rivers and bays. It brings their story to life with videos, boat models, tools of the trade and art.

The centerpiece of the Oxford Museum is a lighthouse lens named for Augustin-Jean Fresnel, a French engineer who in the 1820s devised a light that produces a very strong beam. Other typical exhibits are devoted to oysters, ducks and watermen.

This region is home to the oldest continuing free Black community in the United States, and their story is told in museums, trails and other locations. The Water's Edge Museum in Oxford portrays the lives of Black farmers, watermen, sail makers and others who played important roles in the area's commerce and culture.

The crown jewel of the collections is the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels, an 18-acre campus that has evolved from a humble beginning into a world-class display. It contains a variety of historic structures, more than 100 boats and boat models, decoys, a lighthouse which was moved there and much more.

Each town also has its own memories to share, and together they weave a fascinating account.

Easton (population about 17,000) is deemed the "big city" of Talbot County. The Third Haven Meeting House traces its roots back to about 1684. Among notable Quakers who have worshiped there was William Penn. The town's Hill Community has been home to free African-Americans since the 1780s.   St. Michaels dates back to the mid-1600s, when it was a trading post for trappers and tobacco farmers, and later a ship building center. During the British navy's bombardment in the Battle of 1812 when, several houses were struck by cannon balls, a contemporary account related that the townspeople escaped serious damage by turning off house lights and hanging lanterns in nearby trees, at which the Brits aimed their fire. That trick resulted in St. Michaels becoming known as "the town that fooled the British."

When we crossed the short drawbridge which connects the mainland with the tiny waterman's village of Tilghman Island (pronounced Till-man), we were retracing the route of spans that have existed at that site since the late 1600s. We were greeted by a 10-by 40-foot mural on the side of a building named Pride.

The painting depicts a waterman in his boat, other vessels docked nearby and displays of the seafood for which Talbot County is rightly famous. A plaque pays tribute to the people "who have been working the Chesapeake Bay waters since the 1800s," demonstrating and facing "Endurance. Perseverance. Hard Work. Ingenuity. Danger. Drive. Respect for the natural world."

Fyllis and I chose Oxford as our home base for a variety of reasons, including its serene setting. Officially established in 1683, although the town had existed earlier, this is a charming hamlet of level brick sidewalks which lead past white picket fences enclosing elegant historic homes.

In colonial days it developed as a booming port, and later an active boat building business thrived there. Much later, the author James Michener chose it as the place where he wrote his novel Chesapeake.

Oxford also is notable for two other reasons. One is the Robert Morris Inn, built in 1710 as a home and since 1800 operating as a venerable hotel. Prominent dignitaries who have slept there include George Washington and Robert Morris. He was a British-born merchant who moved to Colonial America, personally helped to finance the Revolution and signed the Declaration of Independence. The original wood paneling and oak timbers were hand-made by ship carpenters, and bricks in the fireplaces were brought from England as ballast in vessels.

The Inn has no rooms on the ground level, and -in keeping with its heritage -- does not have an elevator. However, accommodations also are available in adjacent cottages that require no climbing.

The village also is home base for the Oxford-Bellevue Ferry, the oldest privately owned ferry boat in the country. It began transporting passengers in 1683, and now also carries vehicles, bicycles and motorcycles across the Tred Avon River. The 20-minute trip can save a lot of time for people traveling between those towns, while introducing them to an interesting page from the past.

The county's coastline is sprinkled with historic hotels, boutique inns and charming B&Bs. When it comes to dining, three denizens of local waters - crabs, rockfish and oysters are known as the "holy trinity." They are augmented by locally grown vegetables and fruit, which are available spring to fall at roadside farmers markets.

For more information log onto tourtalbot.org

Author Credentials:
Victor Block has been a travel journalist for many years, and has written for major newspapers, magazines and travel websites and served as an editor of Fodor's Travel Guides. He is a member of the Society of American Travel Writers and the North American Travel Journalists Association. Victor is a regular contributor of reviews to the Disabled World travel section. Visit Victors's biography for further insights into his background, expertise, and accomplishments.