Rock Hall

History

Originally called Rock Hall Crossroads, the city is now a fishing, sailing and recreational boating town situated on the upper Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay. It is the center of Kent County's maritime industries, and is also a popular tourist destination. It was established in 1707. and was incorporated in 1908. Rock Hall served as a shipping point for tobacco, seafood and other agricultural products, as well as a passenger transport connection for travelers during the Colonial era. Later, fishing and seafood processing became the town's largest industry. The town missed out on receiving a railroad connection in 1872, when the Kent County Railroad set out to build from Massey via Chestertown and connect with a ferry to Baltimore for both passengers and freight. The company went bankrupt in 1877, having only built a stub from Chestertown to a place called Belair or Parsons and abandoning the rest unfinished. Rock Hall Harbor remains a working harbor with an active fleet of commercial watermen, charter fishing and commercial sailing boats. It has three museums including a waterman's museum. Hinchingham and Trumpington are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Rock Hall is also home to Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge, which is home to over 240 bird species and is a habitat for the endangered Delmarva fox squirrel. The refuge was established in 1962 when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service purchased the land to protect it from a planned housing development. The refuge was established as a sanctuary for migratory birds, and the Audubon Society has designated this refuge an Important Bird Area.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which is land and is water.

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• Rock Hall Elementary
  Elementary · Rock Hall · 182 students · 9.6:1 ratio