Dorchester County

Dorchester County, located on Maryland's Eastern Shore, extends from the Chesapeake Bay to the Mason-Dixon line and Delaware, bounded on the southeast by Wicomico County and the Nanticoke River and the north by the Choptank River and Caroline County. The exact date and legal origin of the county are unknown, but it was in existence by February 16, 1668/69, when a writ was issued to the county sheriff by the Lord Proprietary. The county was created from portions of Somerset and Talbot counties and named in honor of the Earl of Dorset, a family friend of the Calverts.

The county's tidewater country is popular with hunters and fishermen. Much of the land is fresh- or salt-water marsh, where muskrats and other game of all kinds flourish. Waterfront communities such as those on the Little Choptank and Honga Rivers depend on crabs and oysters and the packing, canning, and freezing of seafood. Cambridge, seat of Dorchester County since 1686, is one of the earliest settlements in Maryland, but much of its pre Civil War appearance has disappeared. Oystering became a major activity after the Civil War and in 1900, Cambridge was second only to Baltimore in the oyster trade. Shellfish processing is still a major industry in Cambridge and several trucking companies move the processed seafood to Eastern markets.

Dorchester County is home for the Blackwater Wildlife Refuge, a 11,200 acre sanctuary for migratory waterfowl. The refuge, established by the federal government in 1933, raises Canadian geese, mallards, blue winged teal, and black ducks and is a migratory place for other varieties of waterfowl. Blackwater is also refuge for two endangered species, the bald eagle and the Delmarva Peninsula fox squirrel.