Crisfield: The City Built on Oysters

The harvest of oysters transformed Crisfield from the small fishing village of Somers Cove on the Little Annemessex River into a transportation hub and major oyster-producing city. In 1866, the first train connected a steamboat wharf with major towns on the Eastern Shore by rail, an initiative spearheaded by John Crisfield that allowed seafood caught by local watermen to be shipped across the East Coast. To celebrate the railroad's success, residents renamed Somers Cove after John Crisfield. With steamboats, the new railroad, and improvements in packing such as canning and refrigeration, Crisfield soon became one of the largest producers of oysters in the United States. In 1872, Crisfield harbor had 600 registered oyster boats, and by 1885, an average of 400,000 bushels of oysters were harvested annually. Oysters brought people, commerce, and prosperity, and oyster shells also made the city's physical growth possible by serving as fill on marshland that routinely flooded, creating dry land for buildings and roads in much of the downtown and waterfront area.

Maryland · United States