Historical Markers and War Memorials in Denton, Maryland
Denton is the county seat for Caroline County
Denton is in Caroline County
Caroline County(86) ► ADJACENT TO CAROLINE COUNTY Dorchester County(148) ► Queen Anne's County(100) ► Talbot County(131) ► Kent County, Delaware(258) ► Sussex County, Delaware(462) ►
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"29, let's go!"
"To All Who Serve"
A Living Tribute to
Our Caroline County
Veterans
and their Families
In Honor of
their Dedication
and Sacrifice
For this Nation's
Freedom
[Engraving on nearby . . . — — Map (db m137765) WM
This bell was originally located in the First Methodist (M.E.) Church on Market Street. It is believed the bell was installed during its construction in 1867. — — Map (db m137764) HM
With more free than enslaved blacks and a sympathetic Quaker population, Caroline County was a hotbed of Underground Railroad activity until slavery was abolished in Maryland in 1864.
Slaves, freemen of color, and whites often . . . — — Map (db m205449) HM
Caroline County-established, 1773, from parts of Queen Anne's and Dorchester Counties — held its early courts at seven different locations until 1797 when its first courthouse was built on this site, once known as Pig Point.
The 1895 . . . — — Map (db m3388) HM
Many facets of 19th century rural life focused on a county’s courthouse. Elected officials, lawyers, merchants, and ordinary citizens all had reasons to gather at the Caroline County Courthouse Square. For the enslaved and abolitionists, the . . . — — Map (db m79340) HM
The Choptank River was as entwined with the history of slavery and freedom on the Eastern Shore as any plantation. Slaves arrived by boat for auction and left the dock in the hands of a new owner. At wharves like this, black watermen played an . . . — — Map (db m79342) HM
Originally called "Edenton" for Robert Eden, Maryland's last Colonial Governor.
Caroline County
was named in honor of his wife Caroline Calvert, a sister of Frederick, the last Lord Baltimore. — — Map (db m3391) HM
This property has been
placed on the
National Register
of Historic Places
by the United States
Department of the Interior
[Additional plaque nearby:]
This 1883 schoolhouse and the colonial garden was owned by the Woman's . . . — — Map (db m137766) HM
Once the Native American population was annihilated, dislocated, or marginalized by the public s well as private efforts, the type of crop grown had a great impact on the new residents of Edmondson's Reserve.
The first successful crop . . . — — Map (db m199272) HM
The Caroline County 4-H Park, Delmarva Girl Scout Camp, and the farms bordering Detour Road are located on a former 1,050-acre tract of land that evidence indicates once served as a privately-owned Indian "reservation" called Edmondson's . . . — — Map (db m199271) HM
The 1863 Emancipation Proclamation did not free Maryland's enslaved people, as states that remained in the Union were excluded from the proclamation's provisions. It was Maryland's new constitution, adopted by the narrow margin of 291 votes out . . . — — Map (db m205446) HM
Sailboats and steamboats unloaded and loaded passengers and freight all along the Choptank. As trade increased in the 1800s, people built wharves and landings every few miles on the river.
A wharf bustled with activity when a boat arrived. . . . — — Map (db m68427) HM
Divided loyalties and ironies tore at Marylanders’ hearts throughout the Civil War: enslaved African-Americans and free United States Colored Troops; spies and smugglers; civilians imprisoned without trial to protect freedom; neighbors and . . . — — Map (db m168144) HM
This site recreates the Golden Age of Steam on the Choptank River
Here you'll find the restored Joppa steamboat wharf and terminal from the 1800s, a visitor center and museum, and a Chesapeake Bay skipjack. This area was once a thriving . . . — — Map (db m98435) HM
Although isolated from Maryland's largest population centers, the Eastern Shore was important to the state's role in the Civil War and exemplified the citizens' divided loyalties.
In the years before the war, enslaved African-Americans here . . . — — Map (db m113505) HM
Growing up as a slave near Easton, MD, Moses Viney often heard, "The wild geese come from Canada, where all are free." When he was 23 years old, Moses learned he might be sold to a new owner in the Deep South. To avoid this fate, he and two . . . — — Map (db m79341) HM
The boat fragments you see here are most likely from a pungy. They were discovered in nearby Watts Creek during the 1960s. Theories vary on how this vessel ended up here — pirates may have run it aground or its captain may have . . . — — Map (db m198810) HM
Neck or Tuckahoe Neck Meeting House was built in 1802 by members of the Society of Friends who had been Nicholites, a sect that originated in Caroline County. The building was used as a house of worship and as a Friends School until 1897. The . . . — — Map (db m5075) HM
These native plants have evolved in this region over 10,000 years and are well adapted to the area's uniq;ue conditions. They contribute to the health and the environment by filtering pollutants, moderating storm water runoff and preventing . . . — — Map (db m98436) HM
On August 17, 1862, the steamboat Balloon arrived at Denton wharf and disembarked a company of New York infantry and a troop of cavalry. The soldiers quickly arrested twelve prominent local citizens and transported them to imprisonment at . . . — — Map (db m68428) HM
While playing with his eight-year-old brother in front of their enslaved mother's "cottage", a six-year-old slave boy named Peter Still and his brother were sold "down South" in 1806 by the owner of Edmondson's Reserve.
Peter's . . . — — Map (db m199279) HM
President Franklin D. Roosevelt made a critical address broadcast by radio to the entire nation from this spot at 2:00 p.m. on Labor Day, September 5, 1938.
He arrived in Denton in a large motorcade led by the local fire company, National . . . — — Map (db m137770) HM
Maryland slaves were not freed by the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, which excluded states that remained in the Union from its provisions. It was Maryland's new constitution, adopted by the narrow margin of 291 votes of almost 60,000 cast on . . . — — Map (db m3389) HM
This garden is dedicated
in honor of
Ruth Ann Crouse
in recognition of her exceptional legacy of service to Choptank Community Health System. As a cofounder and board member for 40 years, Ms. Crouse's leadership provided a lasting impact . . . — — Map (db m198808) HM
Steamboats carrying passengers and freight brought prosperity to Denton and Caroline County during the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Caroline County's economy was based on agriculture. Farmers had to market their products. Steamboats quickly . . . — — Map (db m68429) HM
Reminiscent of William Styron's novel entitled Sophie's Choice about Nazis in World War II dividing a mother from her children, a small but profound drama played out in 1806 in Caroline County: An enslaved mother named Sydney Still was . . . — — Map (db m199276) HM
A large brick structure that stood here for over two centuries had many historic uses.
Alms House (c. 1792-1826): County officials could commit a person to the "Poor House" with legal due process. The inmates had to work hard, sleep . . . — — Map (db m198805) HM
The Denton wharf, here on the Choptank River, was the site of endless steamboat traffic, escapes of enslaved people on the Underground Railroad, and the arrests of active secessionists during the Civil War.
On August 17, 1862, the steamboat . . . — — Map (db m205463) HM
The historic dwelling on on this site is not original to the tract of land first called Edmondson's Reserve. No original buildings survive from Edmondson's Reserve, which was first used as a private Indian Reservation, then as . . . — — Map (db m199275) HM
The diet of enslaved persons was especially poor in nutrition, protein, and calcium. It came from three main sources.
Rations: Frederick Douglass, enslaved in a county adjoining Caroline, stated:
The Chesapeake Bay is renowned for diverse, regionally-developed vessels. The Log Canoe evolved from the hollowed logs, or dugouts used by the indigenous peoples the colonists encountered. These were enlarged by carving additional logs that . . . — — Map (db m198820) 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
The Quakers, also known as Friends, who met in this Meeting House not only held strong opinions on the abolition of slavery and women’s rights, but they also acted on those beliefs.
After 1790, the Friends who gathered here refused membership to . . . — — Map (db m79354) HM
Less than a block in both directions from this site, two young men from this small town grew up as Depression-era neighbors, competed in sports, later entered public service, and rose to the highest elective office in the neighboring states of . . . — — Map (db m137768) HM
Welcome to Caroline County! The Civil War intruded into quiet Eastern Shore communities, and residents of this beautiful, water-laced region faced difficult choices.
In the years before the war, enslaved African Americans from the Eastern . . . — — Map (db m205444) HM
Living in a cramped tenant house like the Doncaster Dwelling (1829) and working with only primitive tools, white tenant farmers suffered from pestilence, adverse weather and volatile markets as they labored relentlessly to provide for . . . — — Map (db m199274) HM
William Still’s mother Sidney and several of his siblings lived in a cottage on the plantation where they were enslaved. Sidney escaped with her children to join her husband in New Jersey, but she was soon recaptured and returned to Maryland. . . . — — Map (db m79313) HM
often called the "Father of the Underground Railroad" (UGRR) and second in importance only to Harriet Tubman, William Still joined the UGRR in the late 1840s as a result of decisions made decades earlier by the owner of a tract of land in . . . — — Map (db m199281) HM
