Page 35 - December 2023 Issue.indd

best, perhaps those who thought it to be true were recalling
that it was the Maryland and Baltimore Land Association
that parceled out town lots before the company went quickly AN EASTERN
bankrupt.
SHORE TRADITION
With that said, Baltimore Corner, or the name at least, does
have, to an extent, a connection to Baltimore City. Until the
Bay Bridge was built, there were two standard ways to get to
the Western Shore from Caroline. One was by ferry, such as the

service at Matapeake on Kent Island. The other was to go up to
Cecil County and around the long way. Interestingly enough,
many locals preferred the overland route because of hours-long
lines to board the ferry. So eventually, travelers referenced
the turn at Maryland Route 312 onto Route 313 as Baltimore
Corner to note their progress or reason for taking that road.
There's actually a bit more historical nomenclature to share,

which is interesting considering no tangible town, village, or
organized settlement has ever existed at that exact crossroads.
While there was for a time a country store that Pizza Empire
currently occupies and a mottling of generational farms nearby,
the population is arguably zero if one applies the bureaucrati-
cally statistical definition of Census Designated Place. Yet that

spot, despite its humble presence, has been popping up on
Caroline County maps since colonial times. The general vicin-

ity was called Forest of Choptank as settlers moved into it to
clear property for agriculture. As that work progressed, locals
well into the 1800s would have known the corner and adjacent
lands as Hogpen Bridge.

I hope that more people will take an interest in this swath of

oft-forgotten Caroline County frontier that graces our Queen
Anne's County border. Visitors may be surprised at the traces
of what used to be there, what is there, and what hidden trea-
sures exist waiting to be uncovered while toddling through. Thelocals’ topchoicefor thrillssince
Bridgetown indeed warrants a closer look by the usual local
authorities on such matters and recreational day trippers alike. 1979.Withasmorgasbord of options
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Michael Shipley Denton, MD 21629
mshipley55@comcast.net 410-479-0777

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