The Caroline County Historical Society
We mourn the loss of our long-time President, JOK Walsh.
Read about JOK’s life and legacy here.
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Hear Our Stories
Leaders for Freedom & Civil Rights
Bishop Alexander W. Wayman, founding AME Bishop, was raised in Tuckahoe Neck. Underground Railroad conductors Daniel Hubbard and Arthur Leverton barely escaped lynching. The parents of William Still, “Father of the Underground Railroad”, were born into slavery near the Choptank River. James H. Webb, a free black, farmed here before the Civil War.
Courageous & Creative Women
Nettie Dean Carter, prominent teacher, suffragette, and businesswoman – a century ahead of her time. Enolia McMillan, NAACP’s first woman president, started her teaching career in Denton. Harriet Tubman’s Underground Railroad ran through the heart of Caroline County. Anna Murray of Tuckahoe Neck helped Frederick Douglass escape north before they married and raised a family.
War Heroes
Capt. Quentin Walsh, USCG, captured the French seaport that secured D-Day. 2LT Louise Hollister was Maryland’s only Army Nurse casualty in WWII. Col. Peter Adams commanded Maryland troops at Yorktown. Col. William Richardson, “Father of Caroline County”, also saved the Continental Treasury from the British. Cpl. William H. Carney, 38th US Colored Troops, was laid to rest at Union Church after the Civil War.
Everyday Citizens
Captain C.C. Wheeler was illiterate yet built and operated a successful steamboat line. George Swartz and his mule loaded sailing vessels in West Denton in the 1930s. The Two Johns were vaudeville actors whose riverside theater scandalized the locals. Georgist Tax Rebels planned a colony at Gilpin Point. Robert Jacobs was a modern blacksmith at age 14.
Historic Buildings Preservation
William Still Center – a U.S. National Park Service Network to Freedom Historic Site
We are honored that the William Still Family Interpretive Center has been accepted as a U.S. National Park Service Network to Freedom historic site.Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony was Monday, May 23, 2022 The William Still Family Interpretive Center and Historic Site Caroline...
Help us preserve the 1802 Tuckahoe Neck Quaker Meetinghouse
Donate to save the Meetinghouse. It takes just a minute.The Tuckahoe Neck Quaker Meetinghouse was built in 1802. The building was later used by the "Dunkards" as a place of worship and a school. The Committee for the Preservation of the Tuckahoe Neck Quaker...
Underground Railroad House (c. 1820) to be Available to the Public
The Society documented the dwelling in 2005 for the National Park Service as the only surviving UGRR station house on the Eastern Shore. It was then placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The UGRR network that operated here was run by Quakers and free...
The Historic Landscape of Caroline County
Caroline County Mapped: 1670-1950
Historical Maps from the David Rumsey Collection Maryland's Eastern Shore and what later became Caroline County were first mapped by Augustine Hermann in 1670. Many of the maps which show the Eastern Shore since 1670 have been preserved and digitized by the David...
1897 is a Certified True Copy of the Original
We can see the Caroline County landscape in 1897, thanks to the efforts of two county citizens working 72 years apart. I found no reference to M. L. Saulsbury's mapmaking in the Denton Journal around 1897. So I'm not sure why this map was made. And I haven't seen an...
Segregated White Schools
The Historic Landscape of Caroline CountyWe identified historically segregated white schools in the Choptank River Heritage area, primarily by georeferencing the 1875 Isler and 1897 Saulsbury maps of Caroline County. In the map shown on this page, use the toggle at...
Segregated White Churches
The Historic Landscape of Caroline CountyWe identified historically segregated white churches in the Choptank River Heritage area, primarily by georeferencing the 1875 Isler and 1897 Saulsbury maps of Caroline County. In the map shown on this page, use the toggle at...
Segregated Black Schools
The Historic Landscape of Caroline CountyWe identified historic black schools in the Choptank River Heritage area, primarily by georeferencing the 1875 Isler and 1897 Saulsbury maps of Caroline County. In the map shown on this page, use the toggle at the upper left to...
Sawmills and Grist Mills
The Historic Landscape of Caroline CountyWe identified and mapped the historic locations of sawmills and grist mills in the Choptank River Heritage area, primarily by georeferencing the 1875 Isler and 1897 Saulsbury maps of Caroline County. In the map shown on this...
River Landings and Railroad Stations
The Historic Landscape of Caroline CountyWe identified river landings and railroad stations in the Choptank River Heritage area, primarily by georeferencing the 1875 Isler and 1897 Saulsbury maps of Caroline County. In the map shown on this page, use the toggle at the...
Post Offices
The Historic Landscape of Caroline County We identified historic post office locations in the Choptank River Heritage area, primarily by georeferencing the 1875 Isler and 1897 Saulsbury maps of Caroline County. Below the map are lists of post offices which appear in...
Towns, Crossroads, and Named Settlements
The Historic Landscape of Caroline CountyWe identified these named settlements in the Choptank River Heritage area: Crossroads Houses Immigrant Settlements Native American Settlements Plantations Towns We identified these sites primarily by georeferencing the 1875...
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of Caroline County
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The CCHS depends on your generous contributions to continue to promote and protect Caroline County’s rich heritage. Funds are used to operate the Museum of Rural Life, sustain our programming, and restore and maintain historically significant structures throughout Caroline County.