WICOMICO COUNTY, MARYLAND

HISTORICAL CHRONOLOGY

1608, June. Capt. John Smith sailed up Nanticoke and Wicomico rivers.

1732, Aug. 8. Salisbury Town laid out by commissioners.

1816. State School Fund Commissioners appointed to oversee County schools (Chapter 256, Acts of 1816).

1837, Nov. 3. Elihu E. Jackson (1837-1907), Governor of Maryland, born near Delmar.

1854. Salisbury incorporated.

1859, Oct. Delmar founded as a terminal for Delaware Railroad.

1860, Aug. 9. Fire destroyed business section of Salisbury.

1867. Wicomico County created from parts of Somerset and Worcester counties (Constitution, Art. XIII, secs. 2-6); named after the Wicomico River.

1869. Subscription library established in Salisbury.

1874. Sharptown incorporated.

1878. First Courthouse completed at Salisbury.

1886, Oct. 17. Fire destroys 22 acres of downtown Salisbury.

1888. Delmar incorporated.

1898, May 25. Garfield King lynched in Salisbury.

1906. Mardela Springs incorporated.

1906. Pittsville incorporated.

1906. Willards incorporated.

1909, May 28. Humphrey’s Dam burst, flooded Salisbury.

1922. Eastern Shore Baseball League, organizing teams from Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia, established at Salisbury.

[photo, Samuel W. and Martha C. Seidel School of Education and Professional Studies, Conway Hall, Salisbury University, Salisbury, Maryland] 1925, Sept. 7. State Normal School at Salisbury opened (now Salisbury University).

1926, Feb. 2. Salisbury-Wicomico Free Public Library opened (now Wicomico Public Library).

1928, July. Eastern Shore Baseball League disbanded.


Samuel W. & Martha C. Seidel School of Education, Conway Hall, Salisbury University, Salisbury, Maryland, June 2018. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.

[photo, Wicomico County Courthouse, 101 North Division St., Salisbury, Maryland] 1931. Hebron incorporated.

1931, Dec. 4. Matthew Williams lynched in Salisbury.

1936. Wicomico Farm and Home Show started at Salisbury.

1936. Courthouse enlarged at Salisbury.


Wicomico County Courthouse, 101 North Division St., Salisbury, Maryland, June 2018. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.

1937-1941. Eastern Shore Baseball League reformed, though without Virginia, before being suspended due to World War II.

1946-1949. Eastern Shore Baseball League resumed post-war; disbanded due to declining attendance and lack of funding and support.

1947. Fruitland incorporated.

1954. Salisbury Zoo opened.

1959. Wicomico County Youth and Civic Center dedication held at Salisbury.

1964. Charter form of government adopted.

1974-1975. Courthouse expanded again at Salisbury.

1975, June. Wor-Wic Community College established in Salisbury.

1996, April. Delmarva Shorebirds affiliated with Baltimore Orioles and began playing at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium.

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

2006, Dec. Wicomico County's first County Executive and County Council sworn in.

2006, Dec. - 2014, Dec. 2. Richard M. Pollitt, Jr. (Democrat), County Executive.

2014, Dec. 2 - 2020, July 26. Robert L. Culver, Jr. (Republican), County Executive.

2020, July 27 - 2022, Dec. 5. John D. Psota (Republican), Acting County Executive.

2022, Dec. 5-. Julie M. Giordano (Republican), County Executive.

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