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city in Somerset County, Maryland, United States
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Crisfield is a city in Somerset County, Maryland, United States, located on the Tangier Sound, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. The population was 2,515 at the 2020 census. It is included in the Salisbury, Maryland-Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area. Crisfield has the distinction of being the southernmost incorporated city in Maryland.
The site of today's Crisfield was initially a small fishing village called Annemessex Neck. During European colonization, it was renamed Somers Cove, after Benjamin Summers. When the business potential for seafood was discovered, John W. Crisfield decided to bring the Pennsylvania Railroad to Crisfield, and the quiet fishing town grew. Crisfield is now known as the "Seafood Capital of the World". The city's success was so great that the train soot and oyster shells prompted the extension of the city's land into the marshes. City residents often claim that the downtown area is literally built atop oyster shells.
Crisfield began to slip into decline along with the declining health of the Chesapeake Bay, prompting a "strategic revitalization plan" to address the city's future needs. Currently, Crisfield is largely a tourist destination. It hosts many annual events and festivals, the most prominent of which is the National Hard Crab Derby. Crisfield is also a major gateway to Smith Island and Tangier Island.
The Annamessex, a Native American tribe related to the Pocomoke people, were indigenous to the region. Their small fishing village was known as Annemessex Neck. The nearby Annemessex River is also named after them.
On February 10, 1663, Benjamin Summers, a settler from Yorkshire or Hertfordshire, England, arrived from Northampton County, Virginia to claim his headright. He patented a 300-acre (1.21 km2) [though in actuality only 250 acres (1.01 km2)] parcel of land, which he named "Emmessex". He later patented another 200 acres (0.81 km2) of land on September 23, 1683, naming it "Musketa Hummock". Both of these plots of land are located in the present-day Crisfield Election District. Another plot of land, named "Little Worth" and totalling 100 acres (0.40 km2), was also patented in Annemessex. These three plots of land would eventually come to be known collectively as Somers Cove.
Somers Cove soon became a major East Coast distribution center for seafood. The town grew faster than other settlements on the Delmarva Peninsula, with over 100 buildings in 1804, while Princess Anne and Salisbury had 40 and 4 respectively.
In 1854, a survey of the Chesapeake Bay revealed that the area was a lucrative fishing location, with extensive oyster beds around Somers Cove.
In 1866, John W. Crisfield, a Princess Anne attorney, was instrumental in bringing the Eastern Shore Railroad, a branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad system, to the Somers Cove seaport. The Crisfield Secondary Branch of the railroad opened on November 6 of that year. The town was formally incorporated in 1872 as a city, and renamed Crisfield in honor of the attorney's efforts. The railroad bolstered the economy of the new city and Crisfield prospered greatly, as did other towns and settlements along its route, such as Marion Station to the north.
Seafood was soon being shipped all over the United States, and Crisfield became known as the "Seafood Capital of the World", a nickname still carried by the city. An industrial boom followed. The city's seafood industry attracted new residents from as far away as New England and the Midwestern United States. The city also had a baseball team before long: the Crisfield Crabbers, who played in the Eastern Shore Baseball League.
The success of the city's seafood industry filled the city with train soot and large quantities of oyster shells. Around the turn of the 20th century, businessmen would buy plots of land at the southwest edge of the city and discard the shells and soot into the salt marshes. This shell midden eventually grew to become a peninsula roughly a half-mile long. Downtown Crisfield was built atop this new land, and this leads to the common statement that Crisfield was so prosperous that it is "literally built on top of oyster shells".
James Reed, an African American native to North Carolina was lynched by a mob of whites in Crisfield, Maryland on July 28, 1907. He was thought to have killed the local police chief.
The city experienced several fires, the most well-known of which is known as the Great Fire of 1928. It began on March 29 at the Crisfield Opera House and quickly spread to the downtown area, completely destroying it and causing over $1 million in damages.
Crisfield's prosperity began to decline along with the health of the Chesapeake Bay. Oyster populations declined to the point where the watermen could no longer fully support themselves on their daily catches. Some businesses began to move out of Crisfield, while others shut down. On April 1, 1976, the railroad that had brought prosperity to Crisfield was abandoned as Conrail was established. However, Maryland Route 413, a new, straight vehicular highway was built before the railroad was abandoned, along the railroad right-of-way. As large businesses in the United States grew, they passed the shrinking Crisfield by until the late 20th century. Fast-food restaurants began to slowly find business in the city, starting in the late 1990s, alongside the many seafood restaurants already in town. A large supermarket had been in city plans for a decade, though it wasn't until April 2010 that it opened for business. Crisfield has also been a target for large waterfront properties, with several large condominiums being built in the mid-2000s in the downtown area, along with other places flanking Crisfield's harbors. A "strategic revitalization plan" has been in the works since 2006 to address future growing needs and beautification of the city.
In 2012, Hurricane Sandy affected the town as many businesses and homes were flooded.
The Crisfield Armory, Crisfield Historic District, Cullen Homestead Historic District, Make Peace, Nelson Homestead, Capt. Leonard Tawes House, and Ward Brothers' House and Shop are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Crisfield is a very compact city, with little vacant land. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.06 square miles (7.93 km2), of which 1.62 square miles (4.20 km2) (53.0%) is land and 1.44 square miles (3.73 km2) (47.0%) is water. As one of the southern points on the Delmarva Peninsula and one very close to the Chesapeake Bay, the city is extremely flat, with the elevation never rising above 3 feet (0.91 m).
The city of Crisfield is surrounded by salt marshes and was built on a floodplain. The downtown is especially prone to flooding during large storms and hurricanes. On October 29, 2012, Hurricane Sandy's storm surge left most of the city underwater. Ongoing local concerns about flooding and the impact of sea level rise were featured in The Washington Post in October 2013.
Crisfield is the southernmost city in the state of Maryland; the point farthest south is geographically located at Ape Hole. Regardless of this, Southern Maryland is an official region of the state not associated with the Eastern Shore, and areas of Saint Mary's County are sometimes claimed to be the southernmost point of the state.
Crisfield's location on the Atlantic Coastal Plain in Maryland gives it a humid subtropical climate, with hot, humid summers and cool to mild winters. Its proximity to water, as well as a common trend on the Delmarva Peninsula, means that the city does not see much snowfall in the winters; meaning Crisfield as well as Inner Harbor Baltimore, and the border of Assateague Island on the Atlantic Barrier Island are the only hardiness zone 8a examples in Maryland.
Crisfield is part of the Salisbury-Ocean Pines CSA, a combined statistical area (CSA) which includes the Salisbury metropolitan area (Somerset and Wicomico counties) and the Ocean Pines micropolitan area (Worcester County), which had a combined population of 155,934 at the 2000 census. Salisbury is the principal city of this CSA.
As of the 2020 census, Crisfield had a population of 2,475. The median age was 42.3 years. 25.3% of residents were under the age of 18 and 21.3% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 79.5 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 74.9 males age 18 and over.
98.9% of residents lived in urban areas, while 1.1% lived in rural areas.
There were 1,081 households in Crisfield, of which 30.3% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 28.4% were married-couple households, 20.5% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 43.8% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 37.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 1,518 housing units, of which 28.8% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 5.8% and the rental vacancy rate was 8.0%.
As of the census of 2010, there were 2,726 people, 1,113 households, and 667 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,682.7 inhabitants per square mile (649.7/km2). There were 1,531 housing units at an average density of 945.1 per square mile (364.9/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 59.0% White, 36.4% African American, 0.6% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 1.3% from other races, and 2.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.7% of the population.
There were 1,113 households, of which 33.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 30.1% were married couples living together, 25.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 40.1% were non-families. 35.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 3.06.
The median age in the city was 38.4 years. 27.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 21.5% were from 25 to 44; 24.6% were from 45 to 64; and 17.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 44.0% male and 56.0% female.
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,723 people, 1,172 households, and 723 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,674.9 inhabitants per square mile (646.7/km2). There were 1,357 housing units at an average density of 834.7 per square mile (322.3/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 58.54% White, 37.46% African American, 0.40% Native American, 0.51% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.37% from other races, and 2.68% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.65% of the population.
There were 1,172 households, out of which 30.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 32.9% were married couples living together, 25.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.3% were non-families. 34.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.92.
In the city, the age distribution of the population shows 27.8% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 24.5% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 18.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 75.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 71.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $17,979, and the median income for a family was $23,929. Males had a median income of $30,078 versus $20,670 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,387. About 30.5% of families and 34.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 46.8% of those under age 18 and 30.2% of those age 65 or over.
Crisfield gained a new police chief in 2007—Chief Michael L. Tabor, who retired from the Baltimore Police Department to head law enforcement in the city. Since then, crime rates have been on a steady decline, generally halving between 2006 and 2008. The most prevalent crime in the city is property crime, down from a high of 180 in 2006 to 92 in 2008. Theft is also very common. Violent crimes, such as murder and forcible rape, are rare, though the numbers for those are on the decline as well. In January 2010, it was reported that Crisfield experienced an 81% decrease in crime rates of all kinds since 2007.
Crisfield's economy is centered largely around retail, health care, and automotive. Seafood is also an important part of Crisfield's economy, just as it has been for most of its existence, with several packing plants existing within the city. In 1997, the company CrabPlace.com began selling seafood online, caught by local watermen.
The largest employer inside Crisfield's limits is the McCready Memorial Hospital. The second largest employer in the city is the Sherwin-Williams plant (formerly Rubberset company), which manufactures paintbrushes and roller covers.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Crisfield, Maryland”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.