#choptank river

[lighthouses-click]

Choptank River Lighthouse (replica), Cambridge, Maryland, October 2020⠀

[sophiaslittleblog]

Yall there are 4 small children under the age of 11 in my house. They been here since Monday. I'm ready to toss these little hell spawns out into the choptank river.

[patgavin]

Choptank River in Denton, Maryland by drone.

[lighthouses-click]

Choptank River Lighthouse (replica), Cambridge, Maryland, September 2015

[lighthouses-click]

Inside Choptank River Lighthouse (replica), Cambridge, Maryland, September 2015

[reynoldsrap4949]

On the theory that “busses, bars at 5 pm, and big box stores” can give a good overview of a new city, i stopped at the rar bar for a beer. I spoke with a few folks. A gentleman from El Salvador invited me to the State of the Rivers talk preceded by fabulous raw oysters and wine. Great talk on salinity, lawn issues(fertilizers), stinging nettles (not a plant),swimability of creeks and rivers. An EPA federal fellow spoke first then the local head of “River Keepers” groups. I sat next to a retired biologist. Conversations were interesting. He swims daily in the Choptank.

[harveyspictures]

THE RIVER As a deep-water tributary of the Chesapeake Bay, the Choptank River was a commercial artery of the Eastern Shore since colonial times. Cargoes of timber, tobacco, and farm harvests were hoisted by dockworkers to waiting ships. During the early years of the slave trade, captive Africans were unloaded here too, Later, thousands of enslaved people were shipped from Long Wharf to Plantations in the South. Ironically, the Choptank River also served as a route to freedom, part of the Underground Railroad. Slaves fleeing on foot knew to follow the river’s course north to its headwaters in Delaware. Some escapees hid aboard vessels, aided by captains or crewmen willing to take the risk. Penalties for assisting runaways were steep. When suspected Underground Railroad agent Hugh Hazlett arrived here from Denton to stand trial for assisting runaway slaves, his boat was met by an angry mob. Found guilty, Hazlett received a sentence of 44 years in prison.

[bigtoeinthewind]

A stop in Cambridge

I stopped in Cambridge on the way back from Assateague to see this in person. 

There are two or three different signs for Harriet Tubman attractions in that same area on Route 50. I don't think I realized that. I thought when I went to the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historic Park that that was THE Harriet Tubman attraction. Nope.

I followed one of the signs to this one. It was right by the Wawa.

I also stopped to see this Choptank River Lighthouse replica. 

On the waterfront, there’s this plaque talking about the river’s role in the slavery and the Underground Railroad. The painting used is The Life of Harriet Tubman. 1940. Panel no. 9.