1903 Map of Crisfield

About this map

Crisfield stands as the primary hub of this coastal survey, where the N and W R R terminates at the water's edge, signaling the town’s era as a vital seafood processing and shipping center. The intricate shoreline of the Annemessex River and Little Annemessex River reveals a landscape defined by waterborne trade and maritime navigation, marked by the Janes Island L.H. and Somers Cove L.H. beacons. To the west, the isolated community of Horse Hammock on Smith Island illustrates the specialized island life of the Chesapeake Bay, where settlements like Sackertown, Lawsonia, and Birdtown are deeply integrated with the marshy estuaries. The southern portion of the map remains noted as incomplete (unsurveyed), emphasizing the challenges of mapping the shifting shoals and complex tidal guts of Tangier Sound and Pocomoke Sound during the early 1900s.