SOMERSET COUNTY, MARYLAND

HISTORICAL CHRONOLOGY

1662. Treaty with Nanticokes.

1666, Aug. 22. Somerset County established by order in council.

1675. Courthouse erected at Ilchester.

1683. New Courthouse called Unity on south side of Manokin River.

1696. Courthouse built at Dividing Creek.

1726. First schoolhouse built on Manokin River between Kings Creek and Jones Creek.

1741, April 17. Samuel Chase (1741-1811), signer of Declaration of Independence, born near Princess Anne.

1742. Worcester County erected from Somerset County.

1747, June. First Courthouse at Princess Anne completed.

1757, Sept. 4. Levin Winder (1757-1819), Governor of Maryland, born near Quantico.

1767. Somerset Academy founded at Back Creek.

1793, April 29. Thomas King Carroll (1793-1873), Governor of Maryland, born at Kingston Hall.

1815, Aug. 29. Anna Ella Carroll (1815-1894) born at Kingston Hall.

1831. First Courthouse at Princess Anne destroyed by fire.

1833. Second Courthouse at Princess Anne completed.

1866. Eastern Shore Railroad reached Crisfield.

1867. Wicomico County formed from parts of Somerset and Worcester counties.

1872. Crisfield incorporated.

1884. The Entailed Hat or Patty Cannon's Times: A Romance, by George Alfred Townsend, published (partly set in Princess Anne).

1886. Delaware Conference Academy for Negroes established at Princess Anne by Centenary Biblical Institute.

1889, Feb. 12. Harry C. (Curley) Byrd (1889-1970), University of Maryland President, 1936-54, born in Crisfield.

1890. Delaware Conference Academy for Negroes renamed Princess Anne Academy under Morgan College.

1894. Princess Anne incorporated.

1894, May 8. J. Millard Tawes (1894-1979), Governor of Maryland, born in Crisfield.

1894, June 8. Isaac Kemp lynched in Princess Anne.

1897, June 9. William Andrews lynched in Princess Anne.

1906, July 26. William Lee lynched in Crisfield.

1907, July 28. James Reed lynched in Crisfield.

Somerset County Courthouse, 30512 Prince William St., Princess Anne, Maryland, November 2011. Photo by David H. Armenti.

1927. Crisfield Armory constructed.

1928. Great Fire of Crisfield.

1933, Oct. 18. George Armwood lynched in Princess Anne.

1933, Nov. 28. National Guard ordered to Princess Anne.

1936. Princess Anne Academy became part of University of Maryland system.

1948. Princess Anne Academy renamed Maryland State College.

1954. Martin National Wildlife Refuge established at Smith Island.

1961, Dec. 24, 29. Sit-ins at Crisfield organized by Baltimore Civic Works Group, including Morgan State College students.

1970. Maryland State College reorganized as University of Maryland Eastern Shore.

1987. Eastern Correctional Institution opened at Westover.

2004, March 2. Electronic voting system used during primary elections at polling places and for absentee ballots in all counties and Baltimore City.

2012, Oct. 29-30. Hurricane Sandy flooded Crisfield; Maryland National Guard called out to assist residents.

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