Talbot County History FAQ

Established in 1661 by European settlers who followed the Native Americans’ footsteps.

Lady Grace Talbot, sister of the second Lord Baltimore

Over 600 miles, the most of any county in the United States

Talbot Courthouse and East Capital because of the important commerce brought to the area by the courthouse and due to the town’s geographic centrality on the Eastern Shore.

Easton

True; 1706: Queen Anne’s County was created and 1773: Caroline County was created

Quaker

It is possible, but documentation of this activity directly in Talbot County is hard to document. After all, rescuing slaves or harboring them was illegal.

The Hill neighborhood of Easton is currently being studied by Historic Easton, the University of Maryland and Morgan State University and is likely the earliest settlement of free African-Americans in the United States, dating to 1790.  Unionville, a village suburb of Easton was settled after the Civil War by Union soldiers who were freed slaves from nearby plantations.

1952

Frederick Douglass

Jay Hall Carpenter

1881 and 1930

Colonel Laurence LaTourette Driggs

The Bank of Oxford

Rebecca T. Ruark

Captain Wade Murphy, Jr.

1886

Harold Baines – Retired professional baseball player
Perry Benson – Revolutionary War and War of 1812 hero
Frederick Douglass – The nation’s greatest 19th century advocate of black freedom and justice
Tench Tilghman – General George Washington’s aide

County Seat: Easton
Pronounced: “Tall-Butt”