"Crab Capitol" a Crisfield Travel Page by grandmaR

Crisfield is a tiny village of less than 2800 people on the Delmarva peninsula.
Latitude: 37.983N
Longitude: -75.854W

Crisfield calls itself the crab capitol. It is the town that is the fartherest south in Maryland on the Chesapeake Bay before you get to Virginia. Because of the diminishing seafood catches in the Chesapeake, Crisfield has been somewhat of a ghost town, and it is in the process of reinventing itself.

Community festivals include:
· National Hard Crab Derby & Fair - Aug. 29-31, 2003 (including crab races) (Event dates often change. Check ahead.)

Nearby parks and recreation: (pictured)
* Pocomoke Sound Wildlife Management Area
* Janes Island State Park
* Cedar Island Wildlife Management Area

Send Photo to a Friend

Window box with shells & eating utensil 'flowers'

History

The town was originally called Somer's Cove after one of two settlers in the area. They started out as farmers, but soon became watermen. The harbor and marina are still called Somers Cove.

Then a businessman named Crisfield got the railroad extended as far as Somer's Cove so that their product could be shipped quickly. Billions of oyster shells were used in the foundations for local roads, buildings and railroads. That's because of the low lying marshy land. Some places in Louisiana use oyster shells in a similar fashion.

Some stories go that the town was renamed in honor of Crisfield to appease him when he fell through a rotten pier.

Another claim to fame that Crisfield has is that it was the home of the Ward Brothers who made fantastically realistic decoys. Their workshop can be visited from the J. Millard Tawes Historical Museum. J. Millard Tawes was governor of Maryland. He also has a Coast Guard boat named for him. The Tawes family was and is very prominent in Crisfield.

Another Crisfield son who is buried here is Curley Byrd, famous or infamous President of the University of Maryland from the mid 30s to to 50s. Another well-known resident was Wesley Nelson, founder of Del Monte.