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The Unforgettable Legacy of Kemit Travers, Sr. : Journeying with the Last Black Skipjack Captain.Dr. Clara Small of Salisbury University, a local historian and specialist in African American heritage on the shore, has written the story of Captain Kermit Travers, Sr. Learn about the last black skipjack captain here.
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From Princess Anne to Powerhouse: The Inspiring Story of John A. Wilson, D.C.'s Trailblazing Clivil Rights ActivistDr. Clara Small, of Salisbury University, a local historian and specialist in African American heritage on the shore, has written the story of John A. Wilson. Learn this local hero here.
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Driving Tour of Faith and FreedomNOTE: You can download the file by clicking on the link to the right. You can also click on the image and see the entire driving tour in pdf form. That image also gives you the option of downloading the file, but you have to log into the scribd system to do that. The download link at the top is easier
Click on the image to the right to get access to the new African American Heritage Driving Tour of the lower Eastern Shore of Maryland. This area encompasses Wicomico County, Worcester County and Somerset County. There are cemeteries, homes, churches, schools and more that will take you back in time on a journey of faith and freedom on the Eastern Shore. Come explore with the Beach to Bay Heritage Area as we take you on a driving tour through 300 years of African American history.
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Beach to Bay Heritage Area Dedicates Mural of Dr. Charles Albert TindleyThe sun shone in downtown Berlin on June 18 after days of rain and scorching heat. Jay F. Coleman, the muralist hired to paint a tribute to Dr. Charles Albert Tindley on the side of the Bruder Hill building in downtown Berlin, painted into the middle of the night to ensure that the mural was complete for the dedication in the morning. Tindley family members from far and wide joined the local family members to remember the man and his amazing accomplishments. The Tindley family choir sang hymns penned by Dr. Tindley.
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African American Heritage on the Lower Eastern Shore
African Americans were an integral part of the cultural heritage of the Eastern Shore. While the slave trade began in the 1640s, it did not slow down until the 1780s and did not finally end until the mid-nineteenth century. Though this region did not have many large slave holding, agrarian based estates, slavery did exist. In some cases, the lower Eastern Shore served as "market" for slave buyers from the western shore of Virginia. There are also cases of some slaves attaining early freedom, but their freedom may have been marginal at best with little improvement over slavery itself.
Later, as the seafood industry became the economic backbone of the region, African-Americans were an integral part of the workforce, particularly in the processing plants. Today, African-Americans are prominent citizens of the lower Eastern Shore and can still be found as a driving force in the seafood industry, agriculture, education and tourism. Princess Anne houses the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, a historic land grant university to educated young black men and women, which opened its doors in 1886. Today its multi-racial campus hosts faculty and students from throughout the world.
Prominent blacks from the past include Isaiah Fasset of Berlin, who was one of the last living Civil War veterans when he died in 1946; folk hero Sampson Harmon or "Sampson Hat", as he is known in "The Entailed Hat" a novel by George A. Townsend. He died at 106 and is buried in Furnace Town with his cat Tom. Some say that their ghosts can still be seen; William "Judy" Johnson of Snow Hill played over 3,000 baseball games for the Negro League from 1918 to 1939 and has been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Later, as the seafood industry became the economic backbone of the region, African-Americans were an integral part of the workforce, particularly in the processing plants. Today, African-Americans are prominent citizens of the lower Eastern Shore and can still be found as a driving force in the seafood industry, agriculture, education and tourism. Princess Anne houses the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, a historic land grant university to educated young black men and women, which opened its doors in 1886. Today its multi-racial campus hosts faculty and students from throughout the world.
Prominent blacks from the past include Isaiah Fasset of Berlin, who was one of the last living Civil War veterans when he died in 1946; folk hero Sampson Harmon or "Sampson Hat", as he is known in "The Entailed Hat" a novel by George A. Townsend. He died at 106 and is buried in Furnace Town with his cat Tom. Some say that their ghosts can still be seen; William "Judy" Johnson of Snow Hill played over 3,000 baseball games for the Negro League from 1918 to 1939 and has been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
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Julius "Judy" Johnson Cooperstown Baseball Hall of Fame
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San Domingo, one of the few remaining Rosenwald Schools. Built in 1919
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Sign project by Lower Eastern Shore Heritage Area commemorating San Domingo School
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New Interpretive Signs
