Eastern Shore of Maryland
Encyclopedia : E : EA : EAS : Eastern Shore of Maryland
The Eastern Shore of Maryland is composed of the state's nine counties east of the Chesapeake Bay. The counties are Caroline County, Cecil County, Dorchester County, Kent County, Queen Anne's County, Somerset County, Talbot County, Wicomico County, Worcester County. Some dispute Cecil County as a true Shore county, however, because of the presence of I-95 and related development, proximity to and influence from nearby urban areas such as Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Wilmington, Delaware, and the state of New Jersey, as well as its position straddling the Elk River - leaving half of the county geographically west of the Shore, instead connected to the Western Shore's Harford County.
Although the Eastern Shore comprises more than a third of Maryland's land area, it only has a population of 420,792 (2004 census estimate), about 8% of Maryland's population.
The main economic activities on the Eastern Shore are farming, seafood, and services related to tourism. Ocean City is an oft-visited resort destination on the Eastern Shore. It must be noted that most business at the resort are owned not by natives but by Baltimoreans, thus rendering the flavor of Ocean City life unlike that of the rest of the Shore. The skyline, featuring many tall hotels and condominiums, is also a stark contrast to the rest of Delmarva.
The Eastern Shore has always been a distinctive region, and has often attempted to split off from the state of Maryland. Proposals have been debated in the Maryland General Assembly in 1833-1835, 1852 and recently in 1999 for the Eastern Shore becoming its own state. Early proposals encompassed a state of the entire Delmarva Peninsula. The proposal in 1999 by State Senators Richard Colburn and J. Lowell Stoltzfus did not specify the status of the nine counties of the Eastern Shore after secession.
Transportation across Chesapeake Bay was by ferries until 1952, when the first William Preston Lane, Jr. Memorial Bridge was opened for traffic. The Bridge spans 4.35 miles of the Chesapeake Bay and is the longest continuous over-water steel structure. A second span was added in 1973 and a third is in the planning stages.
The advent of easy transportation and tourism to the Eastern Shore did much to erode its distinctive culture and its many accents that date to the 17th and 18th centuries.
An Eastern Shore Baseball League operated on three different occasions between the 1920s and 1950. It was a Class D minor league with teams in all three states of Delmarva.
See also
References
|
State of Maryland Cities | Government | History | U.S. Senators and Representatives |
|---|---|
| State capital:
| Annapolis |
| Regions:
| Western | Southern | Eastern Shore | Baltimore-Washington Metro Area | Chesapeake | Delaware Valley |
| Notable Cities:
| Baltimore, Maryland>Baltimore | Bowie | College Park | Cumberland | Frederick | Gaithersburg | Greenbelt | Hagerstown | Hyattsville | Laurel | Rockville | Salisbury | Takoma Park | Westminster |
| Counties:
| Allegany | Anne Arundel | Baltimore City | Baltimore County | Calvert | Caroline | Carroll | Cecil | Charles | Dorchester | Frederick | Garrett | Harford | Howard | Kent | Montgomery | Prince George's | Queen Anne's | St. Mary's | Somerset | Talbot | Washington | Wicomico | Worcester |
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.