Editing Cambridge, Maryland (section)

==History==
[[File:Maryland - Cambridge - NARA - 23940885 (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|Aerial view, 1932]]

===Colonial era===
[[Image:Cambridge Municipal Building.jpg|left|thumb|Rescue Fire Company Train Garden]]
Settled by English colonists in 1684, Cambridge stands as one of the oldest [[Colonial history of the United States|colonial]] cities in Maryland.<ref name="History Of Dorchester County, Maryland">{{cite book
 | url=https://archive.org/details/historydorchest00jonegoog
 | title=History Of Dorchester County, Maryland
 | year=1902
 | publisher=[[Williams & Wilkins]]
 | page=[https://archive.org/details/historydorchest00jonegoog/page/n72 60]
}}</ref> During the time of English colonization, the [[Algonquian languages|Algonquian]]-speaking [[Choptank people|Choptank]] Indians resided along the river bearing their name. Throughout the colonial years, English colonists developed farming on the Eastern Shore, with the largest plantations initially focusing on tobacco, before shifting to mixed farming. Enslaved people were purchased by the planters for labor in tobacco and mixed farming. Cambridge served as a regional trading center, with its town pier being a major hub for slave trading, a history extensively documented by historical markers scattered throughout the town center.

===National era===
Cambridge was officially incorporated in 1793,{{citation needed|date=March 2020}} taking over part of the former Choptank Indian Reservation.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mdmunicipal.org/cities/index.cfm?townname=cambridge |title=Cambridge, Maryland |website=Maryland Municipal League |access-date=April 6, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606034832/http://www.mdmunicipal.org/cities/index.cfm?townname=cambridge |archive-date=June 6, 2011}}</ref> The town received its name from a city and county in England.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/genInfo.php?locIndex=2482|title=Profile for Cambridge, Maryland, MD|publisher=ePodunk|access-date=August 24, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910071115/http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/genInfo.php?locIndex=2482|archive-date=September 10, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> Cambridge also became a stop on the [[Underground Railroad]], which provided a network of safe houses for enslaved people escaping to the north.

In the late 19th century, Cambridge developed food processing industries, specializing in the canning of [[oysters]], tomatoes, and [[sweet potatoes]]. The town's industrial growth was led by the [[Phillips Foods, Inc. and Seafood Restaurants|Phillips Packing Company]], which eventually became the region's largest employer. Winning contracts from the Department of Defense during the [[First World War|First]] and [[Second World War|Second World]] Wars greatly aided the company's growth. At its height, the company employed as many as 10,000 workers.<ref name="Phillips" /> However, shifting tastes brought a decline in business, causing Phillips to reduce its operations. By the early 1960s, the company had ceased operations entirely, leading to widespread unemployment and exacerbating the city's growing social issues.<ref name="Phillips">{{cite encyclopedia
 |first       = John R.
 |last       = Wennersten
 |editor-first       = Beatriz B.
 |editor-last       = Hardy
 |encyclopedia = [[Maryland Online Encyclopedia]] (MdOE)
 |title        = The Phillips Packing Company
 |url          = http://www.mdoe.org/phillipspackingco.html
 |access-date   = 2008-01-21
 |edition      = concept demonstration
 |date         = 2006-08-14
 |publisher    = jointly by [[Maryland Historical Society]], [[Maryland Humanities Council]], [[Enoch Pratt Free Library]], and [[Maryland State Department of Education]]
 |quote        = When the Phillips Company ceased its operations in the 1960s, an era had passed.
 |archive-url   = https://web.archive.org/web/20140717144341/http://www.mdoe.org/phillipspackingco.html
 |archive-date  = July 17, 2014
 |url-status   = dead
}}</ref>

===Cambridge movement===
{{Main|Cambridge movement (civil rights)}}

From 1962 to 1967, Cambridge was a center of protests during the [[Civil Rights Movement]], with local Black residents advocating for equal employment and housing opportunities, as well as the eradication of [[Racial segregation in the United States|racial segregation]] in schools and other public facilities. Riots broke out in Cambridge in [[Cambridge riot of 1963|1963]] and [[Cambridge riot of 1967|1967]], prompting the deployment of the [[Maryland National Guard]] to the city to help maintain peace.<ref>[http://www.crmvet.org/tim/timhis62.htm#1962cnac Cambridge MD – 1962; Cambridge, MD – 1963] ~ Civil Rights Movement Archive, accessed Mar 18, 2010</ref> The movement's leader was [[Gloria Richardson]], and with the enactment of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]], public segregation in Cambridge officially ended.

===Present===
In 2002, the opening of the 400-room [[Hyatt|Hyatt Regency]] Chesapeake Bay resort provided a significant boost to the city's economy through job creation and tourism. The resort features a [[golf course]], [[spa]], and [[marina]], and has hosted numerous high-profile events, including the 2007 U.S. [[House Republican Conference]], featuring an address by U.S. President [[George W. Bush]], as well as subsequent visits by U.S. President [[Barack Obama]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2007/01/20070126-3.html|title=President Bush Speaks to the House Republican Conference|website=georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov}}</ref>

Cambridge was designated a Maryland [[Main Street]] community on July 1, 2003. The Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development established Cambridge Main Street as a comprehensive downtown revitalization process with plans to enhance the economic potential of select cities across the state. This initiative has led to the improvement of [[heritage tourism]] attractions and, along with other cities on the Eastern Shore, has contributed to attracting more tourists to Cambridge. As a result, the downtown business district of Cambridge, part of which was declared a [[Historic districts in the United States|historic district]] in 1990, has undergone revitalization.<ref name="MDHistTrustD-699">{{cite web
 | url=http://mht.maryland.gov/NR/NRDBDetail.aspx?HDID=1068 
 | title=Cambridge Historic District, Wards I & III | access-date=2008-01-21
 | work=Maryland's National Register Database | publisher=[[Maryland Historical Trust]]
 | quote=Wards I and III of the Cambridge Historic District are a large residential, commercial, and governmental area in the northwest section of the city.
}}</ref>

Four different teams in the old [[Eastern Shore Baseball League]]{{emdash}}the Canners, Cardinals, Clippers, and Dodgers{{emdash}}were located in Cambridge.

The [[Brinsfield I Site]], [[Cambridge Historic District, Wards I and III]], [[Christ Episcopal Church and Cemetery (Cambridge, Maryland)|Christ Episcopal Church and Cemetery]], [[Dale's Right]], [[Dorchester County Courthouse and Jail]], [[Glasgow (Cambridge, Maryland)|Glasgow]], [[Goldsborough House]], [[LaGrange (Cambridge, Maryland)|LaGrange]], [[Annie Oakley House]], [[Patricia (log canoe)]], [[Pine Street Neighborhood Historic District]], [[Rock Methodist Episcopal Church]], [[Stanley Institute]], [[Sycamore Cottage]], and [[Yarmouth (Cambridge, Maryland)|Yarmouth]] are listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>