Cambridge, Maryland
Encyclopedia
Cambridge is a city in Dorchester County
Dorchester County, Maryland
Dorchester County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland on its Eastern Shore. It is bordered by the Choptank River to the north, Talbot County to the northwest, Caroline County to the northeast, Wicomico County to the southeast, Sussex County, Delaware, to the east, and the Chesapeake...

, Maryland, United States. The population was 12,326 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....

 of Dorchester County
Dorchester County, Maryland
Dorchester County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland on its Eastern Shore. It is bordered by the Choptank River to the north, Talbot County to the northwest, Caroline County to the northeast, Wicomico County to the southeast, Sussex County, Delaware, to the east, and the Chesapeake...

 and the county's largest municipality. Cambridge is the fourth most populous city in Maryland's Eastern Shore
Eastern Shore of Maryland
The Eastern Shore of Maryland is a territorial part of the U.S. state of Maryland that lies predominately on the east side of the Chesapeake Bay and consists of nine counties. The origin of term Eastern Shore was derived to distinguish a territorial part of the State of Maryland from the Western...

 region, after Salisbury, Elkton and Easton.

History

Settled by English colonists in 1684, Cambridge is one of the oldest colonial cities in Maryland. At the time of English colonization, the Algonquian
Algonquian languages
The Algonquian languages also Algonkian) are a subfamily of Native American languages which includes most of the languages in the Algic language family. The name of the Algonquian language family is distinguished from the orthographically similar Algonquin dialect of the Ojibwe language, which is a...

-speaking Choptank Indians were already living along the river of the same name. During the colonial years, the English colonists developed farming on the Eastern Shore. The largest plantations were devoted first to tobacco, and then mixed farming. Planters employed many enslaved Africans for tobacco but needed less labor for mixed farming. The town was a trading center for the area. It was incorporated officially in 1793 and occupies part of the former Choptank Indian Reservation.

Cambridge developed food processing industries in the late 19th century, canning oysters, tomatoes and sweet potatoes. Industrial growth in Cambridge was led by the Phillips Packing Company, which eventually grew to become the area's largest employer. The company won contracts with the Department of Defense during the First and Second World wars that aided its growth. At its peak, it employed as many as 10,000 workers. Changing tastes brought about a decline in business leading Phillips to downsize its operations. By the early 1960s the company ceased operations altogether. This led to widescale unemployment and added to the city's growing social problems.

During the period from 1962 until 1967, Cambridge was a center of Civil Rights Movement
African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968)
The African-American Civil Rights Movement refers to the movements in the United States aimed at outlawing racial discrimination against African Americans and restoring voting rights to them. This article covers the phase of the movement between 1955 and 1968, particularly in the South...

 protests as blacks sought access to work and housing. They also wanted to end racial segregation
Racial segregation in the United States
Racial segregation in the United States, as a general term, included the racial segregation or hypersegregation of facilities, services, and opportunities such as housing, medical care, education, employment, and transportation along racial lines...

 of schools and other public facilities. During the 1960s, race-related violence erupted on more than one occasion
Cambridge riot 1963
The Cambridge riot of 1963, occurred on June 14, 1963 in Cambridge, Maryland, a small town on the Eastern Shore....

, and forces of the Maryland National Guard were assigned to the city to assist local authorities with peace-keeping efforts. With the passage of the Civil Rights Act
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a landmark piece of legislation in the United States that outlawed major forms of discrimination against African Americans and women, including racial segregation...

 in 1964, public segregation in Cambridge officially ended.

In 2002, the city's economy was boosted by jobs and tourism associated with the opening of the 400-room Hyatt
Hyatt
Hyatt Hotels Corporation , is an international operator of hotels.Hyatt Center is the headquarters for Hyatt corporation...

 Regency Chesapeake Bay resort. This resort includes a golf course
Golf course
A golf course comprises a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, fairway, rough and other hazards, and a green with a flagstick and cup, all designed for the game of golf. A standard round of golf consists of playing 18 holes, thus most golf courses have this number of holes...

, spa
Spa
The term spa is associated with water treatment which is also known as balneotherapy. Spa towns or spa resorts typically offer various health treatments. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters goes back to prehistoric times. Such practices have been popular worldwide, but are...

, and marina
Marina
A marina is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo from freighters....

. The resort was the site of the 2007 US House Republican Conference, which included an address by U.S. President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

.

Cambridge was designated a Maryland Main Street
Main Street
Main Street is the metonym for a generic street name of the primary retail street of a village, town, or small city in many parts of the world...

 community on July 1, 2003. Cambridge Main Street is a comprehensive downtown revitalization process created by the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development. It plans to strengthen the economic potential of select cities around the state. The initiative has led to enhancements of its heritage tourism
Heritage tourism
Cultural heritage tourism is a branch of tourism oriented towards the cultural heritage of the location where tourism is occurring...

 attractions. Together with other cities on the Eastern Shore, Cambridge is attracting more tourists. It has revitalized its downtown business district, part of which was designated a historical district
Historic district (United States)
In the United States, a historic district is a group of buildings, properties, or sites that have been designated by one of several entities on different levels as historically or architecturally significant. Buildings, structures, objects and sites within a historic district are normally divided...

 in 1990.

Four different teams in the old Eastern Shore Baseball League
Eastern Shore Baseball League
The Eastern Shore Baseball League was a Class D minor league baseball league that operated on the Delmarva Peninsula for parts of three different decades. The league's first season was in 1922 and the last was in 1949, although the years were not consecutive, and featured teams from Maryland,...

the Canners, Cardinals, Clippers, and Dodgerswere located in Cambridge.

Geography

Cambridge is located at 38°33′59"N 76°4′37"W .

According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, the city has a total area of 9 square miles (23.3 km²), of which, 6.7 square miles (17.4 km²) of it is land and 2.2 square miles (5.7 km²) of it (25.06%) is water.

Cambridge is on the southern bank of the Choptank River
Choptank River
The Choptank River is a major tributary of the Chesapeake Bay on the Delmarva Peninsula. Running for , it rises in Kent County, Delaware, runs through Caroline County, Maryland and forms much of the border between Talbot County, Maryland on the north, and Caroline County and Dorchester County on...

.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 10,911 people, 4,629 households, and 2,697 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,622.3 people per square mile (626.0/km²). There were 4,629 housing units at an average density of 777.6 per square mile (300.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 47.75% White, 49.9% Black, 0.16% Native American, 0.65% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.61% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, and 0.87% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.44% of the population.

There were 4,629 households out of which 27.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 30.7% were married couples living together, 23.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.7% were non-families. 36.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.88.

In the city the population was spread out with 24.4% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 26.6% from 25 to 44, 22.3% from 45 to 64, and 18.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 84.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $25,967, and the median income for a family was $32,118. Males had a median income of $25,705 versus $21,221 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,647. About 17.2% of families and 20.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.0% of those under age 18 and 18.6% of those age 65 or over.

Media

WCEM broadcasts AM
WCEM (AM)
WCEM is a radio station broadcasting a Sports format. Licensed to Cambridge, Maryland, USA. The station is currently owned by MTS Broadcasting, L.C. and features programing from ESPN Radio....

 and FM
WCEM-FM
WCEM-FM is a radio station playing a Mainstream Top 40 music format. It broadcasts from Cambridge, Maryland. The station broadcasts from its studios on the southern bank of the Choptank River...

 radio from Cambridge.

The Dorchester Banner
Cambridge Daily Banner
The Cambridge Daily Banner is a local newspaper published in Cambridge, Maryland. The newspaper is owned by Independent News Papers, Inc.-Overview:The Cambridge Daily Banner is the eastern shore's oldest daily newspaper...

 is a twice-weekly newspaper published in Cambridge. The paper was founded by Lindsay C. Marshall and Armistead R. Michie as The Daily Banner, notable for being the Eastern Shore's first daily newspaper. The first issue was published on September 22, 1897.

Transportation

U.S. Route 50
U.S. Route 50
U.S. Route 50 is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching just over from Ocean City, Maryland on the Atlantic Ocean to West Sacramento, California. Until 1972, when it was replaced by Interstate Highways west of the Sacramento area, it extended to San Francisco, near...

, a major east-west route of the U.S. Highway System, bisects Cambridge on its 3,011 mile (4,846 km) journey from Ocean City, Maryland to Sacramento, California. U.S. 50 is locally known as "Ocean Gateway" and alternatively "Sunburst Highway".

The Cambridge-Dorchester Airport
Cambridge-Dorchester Airport
Cambridge-Dorchester Airport is a county-owned, public-use airport located three nautical miles southeast of the central business district of Cambridge, in Dorchester County, Maryland, United States.- Facilities and aircraft :...

 (FAA Identifier: CGE) is a county owned, public use airport located just southeast of the city of Cambridge. The airport is a general aviation facility with a lighted 4,477 foot asphalt runway.

The Maryland & Delaware Railroad (MDDE), a shortline railroad, provides freight rail service to Cambridge. The city is the western terminus of the railroad's Seaford line. The Maryland & Delaware interchanges with Norfolk Southern Railway
Norfolk Southern Railway
The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I railroad in the United States, owned by the Norfolk Southern Corporation. With headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, the company operates 21,500 route miles in 22 eastern states, the District of Columbia and the province of Ontario, Canada...

 at Seaford, Delaware to provide access to the vast North American rail network.

Notable residents and natives

  • James A. Adkins
    James A. Adkins
    Major General James A. Adkins was appointed as the 28th adjutant general of Maryland effective June 1, 2008. The adjutant general is responsible for the daily operations of the Maryland Military Department which includes the Maryland Army National Guard, Maryland Air National Guard, Maryland...

    , 28th Adjutant General of Maryland and former Secretary of Veterans Affairs of Maryland
  • Beatrice Arthur
    Beatrice Arthur
    Beatrice "Bea" Arthur was an American actress, comedienne and singer whose career spanned seven decades. Arthur achieved fame as the character Maude Findlay on the 1970s sitcoms All in the Family and Maude, and as Dorothy Zbornak on the 1980s sitcom The Golden Girls, winning Emmy Awards for both...

    , Emmy award-winning actress; star of the television sitcoms Maude
    Maude (TV series)
    Maude was an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS network from September 12, 1972 until April 22, 1978.Maude starred Beatrice Arthur as Maude Findlay, an outspoken, middle-aged, politically liberal woman living in suburban Tuckahoe, Westchester County, New York with...

    and The Golden Girls
    The Golden Girls
    The Golden Girls is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris, which originally aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992. Starring Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty, the show centers on four older women sharing a home in Miami, Florida...

    . Grew up in Cambridge, where her family owned and operated a clothing store. Voted "wittiest girl" by classmates at Cambridge High School.
  • John Barth
    John Barth
    John Simmons Barth is an American novelist and short-story writer, known for the postmodernist and metafictive quality of his work.-Life:...

    , writer, born in Cambridge in 1930
  • Stephen Allen Benson
    Stephen Allen Benson
    Stephen Allen Benson served as the 2nd President of Liberia from 1856 to 1864. Prior to that, he served as the 3rd Vice President of Liberia from 1854 to 1856 under President Joseph Jenkins Roberts....

    , second President of Liberia
  • Troy Brohawn
    Troy Brohawn
    Troy Brohawn of Cambridge, Maryland, was a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks, San Francisco Giants, and Los Angeles Dodgers between 2001 and 2003. Drafted in the 4th round in 1994 by San Francisco after three years at the University of Nebraska, he earned a World Series...

    , retired Major League Baseball
    Major League Baseball
    Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

     player who earned a World Series
    World Series
    The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...

     ring with the Arizona Diamondbacks
    Arizona Diamondbacks
    The Arizona Diamondbacks are a professional baseball team based in Phoenix. They play in the West Division of Major League Baseball's National League. From 1998 to the present, they have played in Chase Field...

  • Gloria Richardson Dandridge
    Gloria Richardson
    Gloria St. Clair Hayes Richardson is best known as the leader of the Cambridge Movement, a civil rights struggle in Cambridge, Maryland in the 1960s. The Movement made significant strides against institutionalized racial discrimination in Cambridge by bringing attention to social injustices such...

    , Cambridge Civil Rights Movement
    African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968)
    The African-American Civil Rights Movement refers to the movements in the United States aimed at outlawing racial discrimination against African Americans and restoring voting rights to them. This article covers the phase of the movement between 1955 and 1968, particularly in the South...

     leader, 1962–1964
  • Charles Goldsborough
    Charles Goldsborough
    Charles Goldsborough served as the 16th Governor of the state of Maryland in the United States in 1819.Goldsborough was born at "Hunting Creek", near Cambridge, Maryland, and pursued an academic course. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia in 1784 and began to study law...

     (July 15, 1765 – December 13, 1834), State Senator 1791–1795 and 1799–1801, U.S. Congressman 1789–1791, Governor of Maryland
    Governor of Maryland
    The Governor of Maryland heads the executive branch of the government of Maryland, and he is the commander-in-chief of the state's National Guard units. The Governor is the highest-ranking official in the state, and he has a broad range of appointive powers in both the State and local governments,...

     1818–1819 http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=G000261
  • Phillips Lee Goldsborough
    Phillips Lee Goldsborough
    Phillips Lee Goldsborough I , was a Republican member of the United States Senate representing State of Maryland from 1929 to 1935...

     (August 6, 1865 – October 22, 1946), a member of the United States Republican Party, was a United States Senator
    United States Senate
    The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

     representing State of Maryland
    Maryland
    Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

     from 1929 to 1935, 47th Governor of Maryland
    Governor of Maryland
    The Governor of Maryland heads the executive branch of the government of Maryland, and he is the commander-in-chief of the state's National Guard units. The Governor is the highest-ranking official in the state, and he has a broad range of appointive powers in both the State and local governments,...

     from 1912 to 1916 and Comptroller of the Maryland Treasury from 1898 to 1900
  • Emerson Columbus Harrington (March 26, 1864 – December 15, 1945), 48th Governor of Maryland
    Governor of Maryland
    The Governor of Maryland heads the executive branch of the government of Maryland, and he is the commander-in-chief of the state's National Guard units. The Governor is the highest-ranking official in the state, and he has a broad range of appointive powers in both the State and local governments,...

     in the United States from 1916 to 1920, Comptroller of the Maryland Treasury
    Comptroller of Maryland
    The Comptroller of Maryland, United States, currently Peter Franchot, is the state's chief financial officer and is also elected by the people for a four year term. The comptroller is not term-limited. The office was established by the Maryland Constitution of 1851 due to concern about the...

     from 1912 to 1916
  • Antwan Lake
    Antwan Lake
    Antwan Lake is an American football defensive tackle for the Las Vegas Locomotives of the United Football League. He was signed by the Detroit Lions as an undrafted free agent in 2002...

    , NFL defensive end who has played with the Detroit Lions
    Detroit Lions
    The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...

    , Atlanta Falcons
    Atlanta Falcons
    The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

    , and New Orleans Saints
    New Orleans Saints
    The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....

  • Henry Lloyd (February 21, 1852 – December 30, 1920), 40th Governor of Maryland
    Governor of Maryland
    The Governor of Maryland heads the executive branch of the government of Maryland, and he is the commander-in-chief of the state's National Guard units. The Governor is the highest-ranking official in the state, and he has a broad range of appointive powers in both the State and local governments,...

     (1885 to 1888); lived in Dorchester County
    Dorchester County, Maryland
    Dorchester County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland on its Eastern Shore. It is bordered by the Choptank River to the north, Talbot County to the northwest, Caroline County to the northeast, Wicomico County to the southeast, Sussex County, Delaware, to the east, and the Chesapeake...

     and Cambridge
  • Carolyn Long
    Carolyn Long
    Carolyn Long was an American operatic soprano and concert singer.She was born as Carolyn Elizabeth Creighton in Cambridge, Maryland. She studied piano as a child, winning a scholarship to study piano at the Peabody Institute in Baltimore in 1932 at the age of 16...

    , opera singer
  • William Vans Murray
    William Vans Murray
    William Vans Murray was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman. He served in the Maryland House of Delegates . He next was elected to the US House of Representatives from the fifth district of Maryland, serving from 1791 until 1793. He then represented the eighth district from 1793 to...

    , born in Cambridge in 1760, U.S. Congressman for Maryland's 5th District
    Maryland's 5th congressional district
    Maryland's 5th congressional district comprises all of Charles, St. Mary's, and Calvert Counties, as well as portions of Prince George's and Anne Arundel Counties. The district is currently represented by Democrat Steny Hoyer, the House Minority Whip....

    , 1789–1791
  • Annie Oakley
    Annie Oakley
    Annie Oakley , born Phoebe Ann Mosey, was an American sharpshooter and exhibition shooter. Oakley's amazing talent and timely rise to fame led to a starring role in Buffalo Bill's Wild West show, which propelled her to become the first American female superstar.Oakley's most famous trick is perhaps...

    , sharpshooter
  • Harriet Tubman
    Harriet Tubman
    Harriet Tubman Harriet Tubman Harriet Tubman (born Araminta Harriet Ross; (1820 – 1913) was an African-American abolitionist, humanitarian, and Union spy during the American Civil War. After escaping from slavery, into which she was born, she made thirteen missions to rescue more than 70 slaves...

    , escaped slave and activist on the Underground Railroad
    Underground Railroad
    The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...


Further reading

  • Peter B. Levy, Civil War on Race Street: The Civil Rights Movement in Cambridge, Maryland, Gainesville, FL: University of Florida Press, 2003
  • John R. Wennersten, Maryland's Eastern Shore: A Journey in Time and Place, Centreville, Md.: Tidewater Publishers, 1992.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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