Salisbury in Wicomico County, Maryland — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
The Original Residents
Pemberton Park Historic Trail
Photographed By Nate Davidson, January 18, 2011
1. The Original Residents Marker
Inscription.
The Original Residents. Pemberton Park Historic Trail. For millennia before Europeans arrived, the Chesapeake region was home to Native Americans and to a rich diversity of wildlife. Black bears and wolves roamed the woods while beaver, muskrat and otters foraged the wetlands. Schools of sturgeon, perch and shad swam in the river and great flocks of ducks, geese, and passenger pigeons flew overhead. Sustained by this natural bounty, Native Americans lived in large villages near the Chesapeake Bay in the summer and dispersed into smaller interior camps in the winter. As European settlement increased, Native Americans moved to reservations created on the banks of the Wicomico River. Tundotank Reservation lay across the river from Pemberton Plantation in the 18th century. There was a significant Native American population in this region until the mid 18th century.
Picture Caption , The illustrations of John White, the basis for this DeBry etching, are an important source of information about the first Americans. White visited coastal Native American villages as far north as the Chesapeake Bay in the 1500s. Stone tools used by native people in this region include a grinding stone, a mortar for grinding seeds and grains, and a full-grooved archaic-period ax.
For millennia before Europeans arrived, the Chesapeake region was home to Native Americans and to a rich diversity of wildlife. Black bears and wolves roamed the woods while beaver, muskrat and otters foraged the wetlands. Schools of sturgeon, perch and shad swam in the river and great flocks of ducks, geese, and passenger pigeons flew overhead. Sustained by this natural bounty, Native Americans lived in large villages near the Chesapeake Bay in the summer and dispersed into smaller interior camps in the winter. As European settlement increased, Native Americans moved to reservations created on the banks of the Wicomico River. Tundotank Reservation lay across the river from Pemberton Plantation in the 18th century. There was a significant Native American population in this region until the mid 18th century.
Picture Caption The illustrations of John White, the basis for this DeBry etching, are an important source of information about the first Americans. White visited coastal Native American villages as far north as the Chesapeake Bay in the 1500s. Stone tools used by native people in this region include a grinding stone, a mortar for grinding seeds and grains, and a full-grooved archaic-period ax.
Erected by Wicomico County Parks & Tourism, Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network.
Location. 38° 20.767′ N, 75° 38.7′ W. Marker is in Salisbury, Maryland, in Wicomico County. Marker can be reached from Pemberton Historic Park Road, 0.4 miles Pemberton Drive. Located within Pemberton Park. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Salisbury MD 21801, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on January 22, 2011, by Nathan Davidson of Salisbury, Maryland. This page has been viewed 684 times since then and 21 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on January 22, 2011, by Nathan Davidson of Salisbury, Maryland. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.