Editing Crisfield, Maryland (section)

==History==
[[Image:John W Crisfield - Congressman from Maryland.jpg|thumb|200px|left|John W. Crisfield was president of the Eastern Shore Railroad and brought the railroad to what is now Crisfield.]]
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.<ref name=commprofile/> The nearby [[Annemessex River]] is also named after them.<ref name="crisfield">{{cite web
|url=http://www.crisfield.com/History/history.htm |title=A Short History of the City of Crisfield |publisher=City of Crisfield |access-date=2009-03-25}}</ref>

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 {{convert|300|acre|km2|2|adj=on}} [though in actuality only {{convert|250|acre|km2|2}}] parcel of land, which he named "Emmessex".<ref name="somersbook164">Vernon L. Skinner & F. Edward Wright, ''Colonial Families of the Eastern Shore of Maryland'', Volume 18, p. 164 (Summers Family of Somerset County).  Retrieved [http://espl-genealogy.org/Miles9/p1681.htm#i65703 here]</ref>   He later patented another {{convert|200|acre|km2|2}} of land on September 23, 1683, naming it "Musketa Hummock".<ref name="somersbook165">Vernon L. Skinner & F. Edward Wright, Colonial Families of the Eastern Shore of Maryland, Volume 18, p. 165 (Summers Family of Somerset County). Retrieved [http://espl-genealogy.org/Miles9/p1681.htm#i65703 here]</ref>  Both of these plots of land are located in the present-day Crisfield Election District.  Another plot of land, named "Little Worth" and totalling {{convert|100|acre|km2|2}}, was also patented in Annemessex.<ref name="somersbook165" />  These three plots of land would eventually come to be known collectively as Somers Cove.<ref name="crisfield" />

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, Maryland|Princess Anne]] and [[Salisbury, Maryland|Salisbury]] had 40 and 4 respectively.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Moser |first1=Jason |title=The Art and Mystery of Shipbuilding: An Archaeological Study of Shipyards, Shipwrights and Shipbuilding in Somerset County, Maryland 1660–1900 |date=2011 |publisher=Florida State University Libraries |location=Florida}}</ref>

In 1854, a survey of the Chesapeake Bay revealed that the area was a lucrative fishing location, with extensive oyster beds around Somers Cove.<ref name="cevents">{{cite web|title=History of Crisfield |url=http://crisfieldevents.com/history.aspx |access-date=2009-12-17 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090505182955/http://crisfieldevents.com/history.aspx |archive-date=May 5, 2009 }}</ref>

In 1866, [[John W. Crisfield]], a [[Princess Anne, Maryland|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.<ref name="Penna RR Chronology 1866">{{cite web|url=http://www.prrths.com/Hagley/PRR1866%20June%2004.wd.pdf|title=PRR CHRONOLOGY 1866 |publisher=The Pennsylvania Railroad Technical & Historical Society|date=June 2004|access-date=2010-09-06}}</ref>  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, Maryland|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]].<ref name="visitsomerset">{{cite web|url=http://www.visitsomerset.com/pages/crisfield.html |title=Come Visit Somerset County, Maryland: Location − Crisfield |access-date=2010-09-07 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100807042305/http://www.visitsomerset.com/pages/crisfield.html |archive-date=2010-08-07 }}</ref>  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 [[midden|shell midden]] eventually grew to become a peninsula roughly a half-mile long.<ref name="rhodescentury7-10">{{cite book|author=Rhodes, Jason |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RgtndFpbR7AC&q=shells&pg=PA7 |title=Somerset County, Maryland: A Brief History
|year=2007 |access-date=2009-11-24 |isbn=978-0-7385-4239-3 |pages=7, 10}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|title=Archives of Maryland (Biographical Series)|url=http://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/speccol/sc3500/sc3520/013700/013758/html/13758bio.html|website=James Reed|access-date=20 July 2015}}</ref>

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.<ref name=rhodescentury67>{{cite book |author=Rhodes, Jason |url=https://books.google.com/booksd=RgtndFpbR7AC&q=fire&pg=PA67 |title=Somerset County, Maryland: A Brief History |year=2007 |access-date=2009-11-24 |isbn=978-0-7385-4239-3 |pages=67–69 }}</ref>

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 [[Consolidated Rail Corporation|Conrail]] was established.<ref name="Penna RR Chronology 1976">{{cite web|url=http://www.prrths.com/Hagley/PRR1976%20Nov%2005.pdf|title=PRR CHRONOLOGY 1976|publisher=The Pennsylvania Railroad Technical & Historical Society|date=November 2005|access-date=2009-03-25|archive-date=June 3, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110603232118/http://www.prrths.com/Hagley/PRR1976%20Nov%2005.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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.<ref name=SRP>{{cite web|author=Peter Johnston & Associates, LLC |title=City of Crisfield, Maryland Strategic Revitalization Plan |url=http://www.peterjohnstonassociates.com/crisfield.htm |access-date=2009-10-22 |year=2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715065644/http://www.peterjohnstonassociates.com/crisfield.htm |archive-date=2011-07-15 }}</ref>

Crisfield is known for its seafood, particularly [[Atlantic blue crab]], and it abounds with restaurants, seafood packing houses, and seafood distribution companies.  Several seafood restaurants across the country carry the city's name.{{citation needed|date=May 2023}}

In 2012, [[Hurricane Sandy]] affected the town as many businesses and homes were flooded.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Effects Of Hurricane Sandy Linger In Small-Town Crisfield, Md. |url=https://wamu.org/story/12/11/30/effects_of_hurricane_sandy_linger_in_small_town_crisfield_md/ |access-date=2023-05-23 |website=WAMU |language=en}}</ref>

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]].<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>