Near Maryland Route 303 north of Norwich Creek Road, on the right when traveling north.
At age six, Frederick Bailey was forced to leave the Tuckahoe and enter terrifying plantation life under his master's roof in Miles River Neck. He witnessed brutal and routine violence against enslaved people. Later, in Baltimore, he gleaned . . . — — Map (db m155649) HM
Near Lewistown Road (Maryland Route 303) north of Norwich Creek Road, on the left when traveling south.
Frederick Douglass's self-determination and resolve to be free demonstrated to others how to rise above oppression. His leadership, inclusive vision, and brilliant words continue to inspire us. As America continues to face up to its past, . . . — — Map (db m155654) HM
Near Lewistown Road (Maryland Route 303) north of Norwich Creek Road, on the right when traveling north.
Frederick Douglass reclled detailed memories of his early life on the banks of the Tuckahoe. Born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey in 1818, he lived near this spot with his grandparents, Betsey and Isaac Bailey, and numerous cousins in a . . . — — Map (db m155647) HM
On U.S. 50 0.2 miles west of Route 213, on the right when traveling east.
This first regional college in Maryland and first two-year community college on the Eastern Shore was founded December 22, 1965, and classes began on the campus September 1969. the sponsors include the State of Maryland and Caroline, Kent, Queen . . . — — Map (db m3132) HM
Near Lewistown Road (Maryland Route 303) north of Norwich Creek Road, on the left when traveling south.
Empowered by a hunger for learning and a thirst for liberty, Frederick Douglass fled from slavery as a young adult in Baltimore and dedicated his life to ending the injustices of oppression. His work impacted the world, and the fire of his . . . — — Map (db m155652) HM
On Villa Road at Goldsborough Neck Road, on the left on Villa Road.
Birthplace of Lieutenant Colonel Tench Tilghman, Christmas day 1744. Aide-de-Camp to General George Washington, 1776–1783, and a participant in every major campaign of the main army in the American Revolution. He was entrusted to carry the official . . . — — Map (db m3168) HM
On Maryland Route 333 at Strand Road, on the left on Maryland Route 333.
Believed to be nation’s oldest privately operated ferry service. Ferry has plied across Tred Avon River since Talbot County Court “pitcht upon Mr. Richard Royston to keepe a Ferry” November 20, 1683, service has been continuous since 1836. — — Map (db m3170) HM
Near Bowtie Drive north of Artillery Road, on the right when traveling north.
Among the troops defending this ridgeline during the battle were the 1st Maryland Infantry Regiment (Confederate) and the Baltimore Light Artillery, both positioned on the western end of the Confederate line, about 600 yards to your right. During . . . — — Map (db m275695) HM
On Main Street (Maryland Route 565) at Barber Road, on the right when traveling south on Main Street.
This was the home of Nathaniel Hopkins, known affectionately in Talbot County as "Uncle Nace." He was born a slave near here in 1831. After leaving his owner, Percy McKnett, and serving in the United States Colored Troops during the Civil War, . . . — — Map (db m154465) HM
On Maryland Route 662 0.3 miles south of Route 213, on the right when traveling south.
The Baltimore Sun declared the Wye Oak “a symbol of all that is noble in ancient and honored trees, ...a battered giant from out of the mists of history which still resides among us.”
At approximately 450 years of age, the noble giant fell in . . . — — Map (db m3165) HM
On Mill Street north of Tilghman Street, on the right when traveling south.
Oxford is a documented Middle Passage port on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. As a major maritime tobacco sea port during the colonial period, there were four Transatlantic ships and twenty-five Intra-American voyages that delivered captive Africans to . . . — — Map (db m298407) HM
Out of hundreds of mills on the East Coast in colonial times, only a few survive, and fewer still operate. As the oldest working mill in Maryland (c. 1682), this flour-producing "grist" mill has participated in three centuries of war, . . . — — Map (db m67286) HM
On St. Michaels Road (Maryland Route 33) at Unionville Road ( Route 370), on the right when traveling west on St. Michaels Road.
Near this spot, about 1665, Quaker settlers built the Betty’s Cove Meetinghouse, at this intersection, known as “The Pincushion,” they established a school, adding one of the first public libraries in America in 1676, George Fox, founder of the . . . — — Map (db m3167) HM
Near South Morris Street (Maryland Route 333) at Market Street, on the right when traveling north.
1812-15
War rages between the US and Britain, partly over the impacts of British restrictions on US maritime trade. British troops occupy Tilghman's, Poplar and Sharp's Islands.
1814
British troops burn Washington and bomb Fort . . . — — Map (db m204972) HM
On Amsterdam Avenue at West 101st Street, on the right when traveling north on Amsterdam Avenue.
This playground is named for Frederick Douglass (1818-1895), celebrated African American abolitionist, orator, author, and statesman. Frederick Douglass Playground is located on Amsterdam Avenue between 100th and 102nd Streets. In 1954, the City . . . — — Map (db m242778) HM
On Glenwood Avenue just west of South Washington Street ( Route 565), on the right when traveling west.
Designed by Kathleen Cowgill
South Terrace 1960 - North Terrace 1962
Nettie Jones Garden 1964
Developed and supported by Talbot County Garden Club under the guardianship of Doris Rend
1968 Special Civic . . . — — Map (db m199292) HM
On Kitts Hummock Road 0.1 miles west of Bergold Lane (County Road 352), on the left when traveling west.
This part of what is now Kent County, Delaware was one of the state's earliest sites of English colonization. Beginning in the 1660's plantations were established along the St. Jones River. The Dickinson family of Talbot County, Maryland was . . . — — Map (db m245466) HM
On Boston Street just east of South Kenwood Avenue, on the right when traveling east.
Just a few yards from this spot on September 3, 1838, Frederick Bailey, later known to the world as Frederick Douglass, escaped from slavery in Baltimore by boarding a northern train. Frederick, 20 years old, was disguised as a sailor, carrying . . . — — Map (db m212892) HM
On South Mercer Street at Market Street, on the right when traveling south on South Mercer Street.
Edward Lloyd, a Maryland official called "the Patriot" because of his eminent service during the Revolutionary period. He was one of two Marylanders in the Congress of the Confederation during 1783-1784. The owner of vast landholdings in Talbot . . . — — Map (db m117401) HM
Near South Morris Street at Market Street, on the right when traveling north.
1668
A parcel of land, including the area that will become Oxford, is traded from Edward Lloyd to William Stephens, Jr., a Quaker from Dorchester County.
1670
The name "Oxford" first appears on a map of Maryland and Virginia . . . — — Map (db m204977) HM
On Washington Street (Maryland Route 343) at Ocean Gateway (U.S. 50), on the right when traveling west on Washington Street.
When Harriet Tubman engaged with the Underground Railroad, she tapped into a secret network of people who firmly believed it was time to end slavery. There were always some enslaved people who seized opportunities to flee to freedom, but by the . . . — — Map (db m205003) HM
On Rock Creek Park Road 0.5 miles north of Muncaster Mill Road, on the right when traveling north.
What was enslavement like for a young child of African descent? Only the men and women who endured slavery and lived to share their experiences either in published autobiographies or in recorded oral histories could answer that painful question. . . . — — Map (db m197907) HM
On Buena Vista Road at Jeanette Avenue, on the right when traveling east on Buena Vista Road.
In 1844, Lambert Spencer built a simple Greek Revival home detailed with Doric columns and acanthus leaves. In 1868, Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd Bowers enlarged and beautified the home. Mr. Bowers added two hexagonal wings and hired an itinerant painter to . . . — — Map (db m17820) HM
Revolutionary War Patriot
Thomas Carney, a free African-American from Caroline County, served valiantly
in the Continental Army with the Maryland Line. A survivor of Valley Forge, he fought
in nine battles from Brandywine, PA to Eutaw Springs SC, . . . — — Map (db m226124) HM
On Turners Creek Road, on the right when traveling south.
Agricultural Demonstration Area
this demonstration field shows how a farmer can grow crops on a steep slope while preventing soil erosion. The Grassed Diversion in the middle of the field funnels water into the Waterways that . . . — — Map (db m162790) HM
On Unionville Road, on the right when traveling north.
From the beginning of the Civil War, Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman urged President Abraham Lincoln to allow blacks to enlist in the U.S. Army and fight for their freedom. On May 22, 1863, General Orders 143 were issued stating "A Bureau . . . — — Map (db m61390) HM
On South Avenue 0.2 miles north of Rockingham Street, on the left when traveling north.
Underground Railroad Sites
Rochester's proximity to Lake Ontario afforded runaway slaves a direct route to freedom in Canada. Hundreds of runaway slaves were "conducted" from one "station" to another along this secret network of escape routes . . . — — Map (db m65156) HM
On South Baltimore Avenue at South Division Street, on the left when traveling north on South Baltimore Avenue.
Few of the hundreds of thousands of vacationers today are aware that a railroad once played an important role in the growth of Ocean City, Maryland. The railroad era began in 1876 and lasted for 57 years; it was the primary form of transportation . . . — — Map (db m137719) HM
Baltimore began as a humble waterfront village in 1729. It burst into prominence as America expanded westward, forging a role as a major trading and transportation center that linked the nation’s interior to the world. From a mere 25 wooden houses . . . — — Map (db m104058) HM
Near South Morris Street at Market Street, on the right when traveling north.
1952
The 4.3-mile-long William P. Lane, Jr. Memorial Bridge (Chesapeake Bay Bridge) opens, replacing ferries and vastly improving connections to the Eastern Shore.
1954
The Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education . . . — — Map (db m204990) HM
Thin black lines indicate changes in relevance. Between each pair of lines entries are ordered geographically but all have the same relevance.
* Inflectional forms of words are their plurals, singulars, and possessives as well as gramatical tenses and similar variations.
