Betterton, MD

Betterton is a town in Kent County, Maryland, at the mouth of the Sassafras River on the upper Chesapeake Bay. The 2020 census counted 286 residents. The town sits on tree-covered bluffs about 15 miles north of Chestertown, with steep ravines and streets that descend toward the water. Its shoreline looks across the upper Bay, while the Sassafras, Elk, Bohemia, and Susquehanna rivers meet nearby. Kent County Public Schools serve local students.

Betterton’s recorded history reaches back to the seventeenth century, but its strongest growth came when the shoreline became a summer resort. Travelers, salesmen, and shippers rented rooms in town, and Betterton Beach drew visitors by steamboat from Baltimore. The Betterton Historic District preserves Victorian resort buildings from the 1880–1930 period, with houses and streets still oriented toward the beach and river. The old resort economy faded, but the town’s waterfront, ravines, and historic buildings keep that era close to the surface. Betterton is a small Eastern Shore town where a fishing and resort past meets the upper Chesapeake.