Cambridge

We took a walking tour of Cambridge which was settled in 1684.  Cambridge is on the Choptank River and like Chestertown, served as a major trading center sending tobacco, lumber, seafood and muskrat pelts to England in exchange for finished goods manufactured in England and slaves imported from Africa.  Tobacco and grain crops were the primary agricultural products.  Tobacco was exported and the abundance of grain crops led to the region being called the “Breadbasket of the Colonies”.

Cambridge continued to thrive well into the 20^th Century.  In the mid-1800’s lumber and flower mills boosted its economy.  Cambridge was second only to Baltimore in packing oysters.  The town was one of the largest canning centers in the United States.  Seafood, fruits and vegetables surrounded the city which could ship its canned goods by sea or rail.  At its high point, Cambridge’s Phillips Packing Company grew to 25 locations in 5 states and rivaled the Campbell Company (soup) in size.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambridge,_Maryland