History
The opportunity for freedom of religious worship and Governor Calvert's offer of fifty free acres of land to each new arrival attracted the first settlers to this region in the early 1660's. They came chiefly from the British Isles to clear land for plantation homes along the Wicomico River and its tributaries. For a century they lived as neighbors to the native Indians in relative peace, until their increasing numbers precipitated the departure of the Aborigines to northern and western climes.
Salisbury Towne was created on
paper by the Maryland government in August 1732, because the site
at the headwaters of the Wicomico was considered "convenient for
trade." Its identical physical character and nationality of the
founders have convinced most historians the village's name was
borrowed from the ancient cathedral city of Salisbury, England. A
defect in the original town charter and the shallow harbor retarded
growth for several decades. Then in 1860 and 1886, disastrous fires
destroyed two-thirds of the town. Troops were stationed here during
the Revolutionary War to suppress Tory activities in the central
peninsula counties. In the Civil War, Union forces were
encamped
here to seek out southern sympathizers and prevent movement of
contraband to the Confederacy.
Salisbury became the seat of government when Wicomico was carved
off from Somerset and Worcester Counties in 1867. Many state and
federal offices are now operating here.
While the two great fires obliterated structures of colonial
vintage, several interesting historic buildings still exist in the
city's environs. Old Green Hill Church erected in 1733 and its
chapel, St. Paul's (1790) near Hebron, were founded as Anglican
houses of worship and retain most their original architectural
features. Visits to the beautiful old brick Pemberton Hall (1741)
and Poplar Hill Mansion circa 1800 are well rewarded. One of the
original sections of Salisbury, known as Newtown, has been made a
historic district.