Dorchester County, Maryland: History
Many residents of Dorchester County have historically been watermen and farmers. The Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries provide harvests of crabs, oysters and many fish species to both commercial and recreational fishermen. Dorchester County was the birthplace of Harriet Tubman, who escaped from slavery and afterward worked to guide other refugee slaves to freedom in the North.
Dorchester County has been hit by two deadly tornadoes. The first occurred on June 23, 1944, in Cambridge, where two people were killed and 33 were injured. The other was on May 8, 1984, in Hurlock, where one death and six injuries were reported. Both storms caused between 500,000 and 5 million dollars of damage.
During the 1960s, Dorchester County was home to many key civil rights events, including the Cambridge movement from 1961 to 1964, the Cambridge riot of 1963, and the Cambridge riot of 1967.
The Cambridge movement led to the negotiation of "The Treaty of Cambridge" among federal, state, and local leaders in July 1963, initiating desegregation in the city prior to passage of federal civil rights laws. Notable signatories of the treaty include U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, U.S. Assistant Attorney General Burke Marshall, chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) John Lewis, Maryland Attorney General Thomas B. Finan, NAACP secretary Stanley Branche, and civil rights activist Gloria Richardson.