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ST MICHAELS, MARYLAND - USA
St. Michaels is a town located in Talbot County, Maryland. As of the 2000
census, the town had a total population of 1,193.
History
Verrazano may have explored these peninsulas in 1524. Captain John Smith
cruised this "delightsome land" during the summer of 1608. William Claiborne,
the Virginia Secretary of State, a friend of John Smith, and later a pirate
(Shomette), founded a trading post and settlement in 1631 just 10 miles from
the current town of St. Michaels on the lee side of Kent Island across
Eastern Bay.
About thirty years later, the Calvert family
(the Lords of Baltimore) supported settlements in Talbot County, named for
the sister of Cecilius Calvert, the second Lord Baltimore, and wife of Sir
Robert Talbot.
Frederick Augustus Bailey (later known as Frederick Douglass), famous
abolitionist and later U.S. representative in Haiti, worked as a slave in
and near St. Michaels before he escaped from slavery in the 1830's. Robert
E. Lee slept in one of the local homes; presidents and statesmen from all
over the globe vacationed on nearby Jefferson island.
James Michener lived here while researching and writing Chesapeake, Bill
Veeck (as in "wreck") was a resident; Harold Baines (Chisox and Baltimore
Orioles) was born in St. Michaels and has a home here.
Land grants dating from the 1640's to the mid-1670's established much of the
present periphery of the town. The river and (probably) the tiny village
were known as St. Michaels before 1658. It is likely that the current name
of the river, the Miles, is a corruption of the town name, and there is at
least one citation, in the will of William Hambleton of Martingham, in 1675,
which refers to the "Myles" river. In about 1677, the Christ Episcopal
Church of St. Michael the Archangel parish was founded on a narrow neck of
land between the Miles River and Broad Creek.
During the next hundred years, forests were cleared, ships were constructed
with the timber and the land tilled for tobacco. The village remained small,
but attracted a number of shipwrights and craftsmen to support the small
shipbuilding industry. The tobacco market waned with the advent of the
American Revolution and agricultural production turned to wheat to feed
Washington's troops.
In 1778, James Braddock, an agent for a British firm, purchased
approximately 20 acres and subdivided St. Michaels into a planned community
of 58 lots (Touart). Its contemporary neighbors then and now were already on
the map. Both the nearby town of Oxford and the private ferry service from
Oxford to Bellevue were already almost a hundred years old; Tilghman Island
had already been a political entity for 70 years; the village of Talbot
Court House (later Talbot Town. now Easton) developed in the early 1700's
and had some Quaker structures from the late 1600's.
The current St. Mary's Square was the centerpiece of Braddock's plan. By the
time the Treaty of Parts was signed to end the Revolutionary War in 1783, "there
can be no doubt that ... (St. Michaels), though small, was firmly
established (Touart). The village was incorporated as a town in 1804.
Between 1804 and 1806, the village was re-surveyed and platted as three
squares: Harrison's square at the north end, Thompson's square to the
southwest and the original Braddock's square on the southeast end. Many of
the current homes and some shops date from the late 1700's to the late
1800's and the aura on main street (Talbot Street) and the homes on side
streets pleasantly reflect colonial, Federal and Victorian eras.
In the dark morning hours of August 10, 1813, a number of British barges had
planned an attack on the town and a fort on the harbor side. The residents
of tiny St. Michaels, forewarned, hoisted lanterns to the masts of ships and
in the tops of the trees, tricking the British by causing the cannons to
overshoot the town. This first "blackout" was effective and only one house
was struck. Now known as "The Cannonball House" a cannon ball penetrated the
roof and rolled down the staircase as Mrs. Merchant carried her infant
daughter downstairs. The house still exists as a private residence.
St. Michaels derived its name from the Episcopal Parish established here in
1677. The church attracted settlers who engaged in tobacco growing and ship
building.
In 1805, an area was set aside for a public market known as "St. Mary's
Square". Here stands a bell cast in 1841 which rang at 7a.m., noon and 5p.m.
to measure the workday for the ship's carpenters in the nearby harbor and
the remains of a cannon used in the defense of the town during the War of
1812.
Geography
St. Michaels is located at 38°47'1" North, 76°13'20" West (38.783748,
-76.222214)1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of
2.4 km˛ (0.9 mi˛). 2.1 km˛ (0.8 mi˛) of it is land and 0.2 km˛ (0.1 mi˛) of
it is water. The total area is 9.89% water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there are 1,193 people, 548 households, and 340
families residing in the town. The population density is 555.0/km˛
(1,442.1/mi˛). There are 671 housing units at an average density of
312.1/km˛ (811.1/mi˛). The racial makeup of the town is 69.24% White, 29.25%
African American, 0.00% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.00% Pacific
Islander, 0.59% from other races, and 0.75% from two or more races. 0.59% of
the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 548 households out of which 25.0% have children under the age of
18 living with them, 39.6% are married couples living together, 17.7% have a
female householder with no husband present, and 37.8% are non-families.
34.1% of all households are made up of individuals and 19.2% have someone
living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is
2.18 and the average family size is 2.75.
In the town the population is spread out with 24.2% under the age of 18,
4.5% from 18 to 24, 21.3% from 25 to 44, 26.1% from 45 to 64, and 23.9% who
are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 45 years. For every 100
females there are 84.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there
are 80.4 males.
The median income for a household in the town is $32,578, and the median
income for a family is $39,821. Males have a median income of $30,438 versus
$23,250 for females. The per capita income for the town is $28,131. 15.0% of
the population and 11.1% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the
total people living in poverty, 22.8% are under the age of 18 and 9.8% are
65 or older.
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