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The town of Federalsburg
is located in the southern-most part of Caroline County at the
headwaters of Marshyhope Creek, known in earlier days as the
Northwest Fork (of the Nanticoke River). The place was settled
as early as the 1690s by some of William Penn’s colonists, and
its location on the river became a natural crossing point for
travelers; the Nanticoke Indians had been fording the river
there long before the settlers arrived. A store was established
there in 1789, and a small village developed around it. But it
was not until a bridge was built at the crossing in the early
1790s that the place’s potential for commerce began to be
exploited. It was known simply as The Bridge until one day in
1812 when the town hosted a rousing mass meeting of the
Federalist Party. Emotions ran high, and by popular demand the
town’s name was changed on the spot to Federalsburg.
Probably, Federalsburg's earliest industry was shipbuilding;
the surrounding white oak forests supplied the building
material. The water at Federalsburg was too shallow for the
ships to be launched there, so the hulls were conveyed to
Brown's Wharf four miles down the river. There they were
launched, outfitted, and sent off on their careers as Bay and
river trading vessels. That industry died sometime before the
Civil War.
Other industries centered around the mill dam at the town’s
northern end. There, logs were converted to lumber, which was
sent downstream for shipping to Baltimore. Fleece was processed
to yarn, and wheat was ground and made into “Maryland Biscuits.”
The dam was used as a source of power for these industries until
the last mill burned in 1916.
River traffic with Baltimore and other smaller towns on the
Chesapeake Bay began at an early date. Heavily loaded scows were
pushed down the river by four or five men using long poles. At
Brown’s Wharf, the cargo was reloaded onto schooners and other
sailing vessels for its journey down the Nanticoke and out onto
the Bay.
Before the Civil War, there was little cross-country traffic
except for the stage-coaches carrying mail and passengers. The
Seaford and Cambridge Division of the Pennsylvania Railroad
opened on October 12, 1868, a date that marked the beginning of
a new era in the history of Federalsburg. The railroad opened up
the markets of Philadelphia, New York, and other northern cities
to Federalsburg’s products— most importantly the perishable
garden and orchard produce that could be transported
successfully when refrigerated railroad cars were introduced.
Today, agriculture is a major element in the area’s economy,
although two full-service industrial parks have been created to
accommodate the growing diversity in the town’s economic base.
New housing is keeping abreast, and rehabilitation of homes
throughout the town is revitalizing neighborhoods. The town has
a community park, and the Marshyhope Greenway, a two-mile
recreational/nature trail along the banks of the scenic
Marshyhope Creek, is enjoyed by walkers, joggers, bicyclists,
skateboarders, and rollerbladers year round.
Federalsburg has planned for controlled growth, and its
citizens are dedicated to seeing their town prosper. Anyone who
cares to help is warmly welcomed.
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