Watermen settled the Somers Cove area in the 1660s, and the community prospered after the discovery of Tangier Sound oyster beds in 1854. In the late 19th and early 20th century, it became the center of the Chesapeake Bay seafood industry and was known as the "Seafood Capital of the World." John W. Crisfield promoted an 1866 railroad link to carry bay produce to urban markets, and the town was renamed in his honor in 1874. The busy port expanded on landfill of oyster shells.