Town of the Week

Cambridge, Maryland
May 13, 2000

Head over to Cambridge, Maryland; just listen in.

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Over 300 years ago, heart-shaped Dorchester County came to be as the most remarkable county on Maryland's eastern shore. Water nearly surrounds the county by virtue of the Chesapeake Bay and of the choptank and Nanticote River's. You view the Choptank River's boat traffic and yacht basin from high street in the historic town of cambridge, where a walking tour leads past 18th and 19th century homes.

A drawbridge over Cambridge Creek stands as a gateway to this community where stores have been serving customers since the 1860's. Many people are acquainted with Cambridge because author James Michener featured it in his epic, Chesapeake. Shipbuilding and shipping have always been important, which led to the town's nickname as the queen city on the eastern shore.

Its maritime heritage is depicted in the Brannock Maritime Museum, with other area history found in the Dorchester Heritage Museum. The Dorchester County courthouse of italianate design and the american gothic christ P. E. Church are two classic examples of the variety of architectural styles seen in Cambridge. An 1892 Victorian hotel is now the Dorchester Arts center.

But what draws the greatest number of visitors to this area is the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge where well over 100 thousand migratory waterfowl stop each fall and spring. Its said you really cannot experience the area until you've seen it from the water. Try an excursion on a skipjack, or paddlewheeler, kayak or canoe, and lunch on long wharf park in our town of the week, Cambridge, Maryland.