1942 Map of Wingate

About this map

Blackwater River and the complex tidal marshes of Dorchester County dominate this 1942 survey, depicting a landscape defined by water and narrow ridges of habitable land. Small fishing and farming communities like Toddville, Bishops Head, and Crapo are linked by a singular road network that skirts the Great Marsh and Cedar Creek Marsh. The map provides a detailed view of the Eastern Shore's amphibious geography, where names like Wrights Landing and Stingaree Island speak to a long history of maritime activity. In the east, the isolated settlement of Elliott on Elliott Island sits between Fishing Bay and the Transquaking River, demonstrating the extreme reliance on favorable topography in this low-lying region. This survey, mapped by the Army Map Service during the war years, documents the intricate drainage patterns of Raccoon Creek and numerous guts and ditches before mid-century environmental changes.