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Wednesday, May 23, 2012 |
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Historic Delmarva Dates
May 14, 1963 - Gloria Richardson, one of the founders of the Cambridge Nonviolent Action Committee, was arrested for trespassing when attempting to be served at a local restaurant in Cambridge, Maryland. This and other events set off a series of riots which resulted in the Maryland National Guard being brought in through May 1965.May 7, 1779 - Continental Navy sloop Providence captures British brig Diligent off Cape Charles, Virginia. May 6, 1916 - First ship-to-shore radio telephone voice conversation from USS New Hampshire off Virginia Capes to Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels in Washington, DC. May 1, 1774 - During this month, a commercial British vessel the Severn, on its way to Philadelphia sank during in a storm in the Roosevelt Inlet at Lewes, Delaware. April 30, 1990 - Thunderstorms moving over the Chesapeake Bay flooded U.S. Route 50 on Kent Island Maryland, with several inches of water. This caused a seventeen-mile long traffic jam. April 28, 1788 - The Maryland Convention was the 7th state to ratify US Constitution. April 24, 1987 - Thunderstorms dumped up to seven inches of rain in Virginia over the course of three days. April 21, 1649 - Religious toleration law enacted in Maryland. April 19, 1999 - The second (parallel) span of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge tunnel opens for traffic. April 19, 1774 - The last colonial General Assembly was suspended in Maryland. April 17, 1990 - Strong winds associated with heavy storms gusted to 75 mph in the Chesapeake Bay area of Virginia. April 15, 1964 - The Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel opened. It was named one of the 7 modern engineering wonders of the world. April 13, 1926 - Cape Henlopen Lighthouse collapsed after years of weather damage and abandonment. April 10, 1877 - Three days of strong coastal storms caused heavy beach erosion. April 6, 1650 - Maryland General Assembly divided into an upper and lower house. March 31, 1911 - T. Coleman du Pont gets legislative approval to build the Dupont Highway (Route 13) starting in Sussex County and ending in Wilmington. It eventually ran the full length of the peninsula. March 29, 1941 - Maryland ratified the Nineteenth Amendment granting women the right to vote, a symbolic gesture since though Maryland had rejected it women had enjoyed the right to vote since the amendment's passage in August of 1920. March 28, 1785 - Mt. Vernon Compact was signed by Maryland & Virginia Commissioners creating an agreement on navigation and fishing in the tidewaters of the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay March 25, 1634 - Maryland Day - The English ship the Ark and the Dove landed with English immigrants on St. Clement's Island in southern Maryland. March 24, 1820 - Berlin, Maryland native Commodore Stephen Decatur dies after losing a duel |
Where on Delmarva is this? The Transpeninsular Line
This is the easternmost end of the Transpeninsular Line. The western end marks the center point of Delmarva beginning at the south western most corner of present day Delaware outside of Mardela Springs. It travels east to the Atlantic coast town of Fenwick Island at the foot of the town's lighthouse. In 1750 surveyors form both Maryland and Pennsylvania were commissioned to establish the boundary between the two colonies. At that time Delaware was still considered the "Lower Counties" of Pennsylvania. So, the stone monument erected to mark this spot, has Maryland's seal on the southern side and Pennsylvania's on the north side which is now not directly visible because of fencing. When Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon did their famous survey they were given the job of making a connecting line from the Transpeninsular Line to the twelve mile circle centered on the city of New Castle which created Delaware's northern boundary. British King George III ratified the resulting Mason Dixon Line separating Maryland, Pennsylvania and Delaware in 1769. In 1856 a lighthouse was commissioned for Fenwick Island by the United States Lighthouse Board and the US Congress. This area was known as a "false cape" because it was the easternmost part of the peninsula's ocean coast. And, there had been a growing number of shipwrecks on nearby shoals. The lighthouse was completed and the lamp was lit for the first time August 1, 1859. In 1978 the lighthouse was decommissioned by the US Coast Guard along with many other lighthouses. The property is now operated as a museum by a dedicated volunteer organization.
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