City on the Choptank A Brief Glance at Cambridge’s Past by Harold W. Hurst Books and travel literature describing Maryland’s Eastern Shore generally focus on the history and quaint charm of Chestertown, Easton, St. Michaels, Oxford and, perhaps, Princess Anne and Snow Hill. Cambridge often gets less attention. Yet the town on the Choptank has a rich past, many interesting landmarks, and a substantial historical district. The eventful and kaleidoscopic saga of Cambridge is well worth reviewing.

Founded in 1684, Cambridge, the county seat of Dorchester, soon became a leading tobacco exporting center on the Eastern Shore. Tobacco (sot-weed) plantations owned by the Carroll, Dorsey, Ennals, Goldsborough, Henry, Hooper, LeCompte, Sewall, Trippe, Tubman and other prominent families, shipped their crops to Cambridge, where they were inspected and stored in the town’s warehouses and later shipped to Annapolis,

Clipper ships were built in Cambridge, Maryland. 51