Editing Cambridge, Maryland (section)

===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.