Crisfield, MD

Crisfield is Maryland's southernmost incorporated city, set on Tangier Sound at the bottom of Somerset County. The 2020 census counted 2,515 residents. The site began as Annemessex Neck and later became Somers Cove, a small harbor community shaped by fishing, clamming, and oyster work. The railroad reached Crisfield in 1866, and the Maryland legislature granted the town a charter in 1872. Much of the business district was built on marsh filled with crushed oyster shells.

Crisfield's waterfront still carries workboats, ferries to Smith and Tangier islands, and boats serving the oyster and crab trade. The National Hard Crab Derby fills Labor Day weekend with crab races, boat docking, cooking and picking contests, a parade, and events around Somers Cove Marina. The J. Millard Tawes Historical Museum keeps Chesapeake life, watermen, and seafood history in the local conversation, while McCready Memorial Hospital serves as Somerset County's only hospital. Crisfield is a compact city whose streets, docks, and shell-filled ground all point back to Tangier Sound.