Maryland, Kent County, Rock Hall
The geography of Rock Hall puts it smack dab in the middle of a well-traveled transportation route.
From the beginning, it served as a key ferry terminus linking the Eastern and Annapolis shores. Our nation’s founding fathers, traveling frequently between the Chesapeake region and Philadelphia, passed through Rock Hall’s docks and Inns.
Spreading the News
Today’s computer driven world travels in megabytes per second; but in colonial times, news moved only as fast as ferries and horses could carry it. Its key location gave Rock Hall an advantage when it came to staying current; even news of the end of the Revolutionary War traveled through here on its way to Congress.
Farm to Market-Just as with waterman, the many farmers of Kent County depended on Bay ships to transport their goods to the Baltimore and Philadelphia markers. The wharf at Rock Hall was the shipping center for southern Kent County during the 19th and 20th centuries.
Moving Forward
More recent transportation developments, such as the Bay Bridge and improved highways, have changed life on the Eastern Shore. On some days, you can see the Bay Bridge on the horizon directly ahead.
(Side bar) “..a lively little shipping village,” –Chestertown Transcript Account, April 20, 1893
(Inscription under the photo in the center) Above left, Tench Tighman carried word through Rock Hall that the Revolutionary War had ended.
Above right, George Washington also passed through here in colonial times. Images courtesy iStockphoto.
(Inscription on the right of the photo in the bottom center)
At right, peaches are a signature crop of the Eastern Shore. Image courtesy iStockphoto.
(Inscription under the photo in the bottom center)
Above, bringing in the day’s catch. Reprinted with permission from Images of America; Rock Hall, by Robin Kiarowski, Patricia Joan O. Hersey, and R. Jerry Kelser. Available from the publisher online at www.arcadiapublioshing.com or calling 888-313-2665.
(Inscription to the right of the photo in the upper right)
The Chesapeake Bay Fishing Fair of 1938 brought notoriety to Rock Hall as THE place to fish. Various forms of fishing contests continue to this day. Reprinted with permission from Images of America; Rock Hall, by Robin Kiarowski, Patricia Joan O. Hersey, and R. Jerry Kelser. Available from the publisher online at www.arcadiapublioshing.com or calling 888-313-2665.
(Colonial Era • War, US Revolutionary • Waterways & Vessels) Includes location, directions, 3 photos, GPS coordinates, map.