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Maryland - St. Jerome Creek through Wicomico RiverPhoto: Unknown authorUnknown author or not provided · Public domain
–Not graded
History · Tilghman Island

14% of Tilghman Island’s homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Sigsbee and the Virginia W. Below: 11 old photos and papers and maps from 1893 on.

2on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
11old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Tilghman Island’s archive · credits on each photo

What stands out about Tilghman Island’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Tilghman Island, and 5 old place names are still on the map.On the map since 18934 editions of the USGS map, 1893 to 1988. Watch Tilghman Island change.Old housesHalf of Tilghman Island’s homes were built before 1964.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Tilghman
1883–today
Fairbank
1892–1942
Avalon
1900–1965
Bar Neck
1914–1921
18801950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
AvalonDeep HarborFairbankTilghmanTilghman Island Beach
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Tilghman Island
Saint Johns ChapelTilghman Island

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

On the map

Tilghman Island on the map, 1893 to 1988

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Tilghman Island. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Tilghman Island on the 1893 USGS mapTilghman Island on the 1904 USGS mapTilghman Island on the 1942 USGS mapTilghman Island on the 1988 USGS map1893Sharps Island sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Tilghman Island.

The story

How Tilghman Island came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Tilghman Island.

Read it all →

Initially known as Great Choptank Island, the island became identified with a series of local families. It was owned by Matthew Tilghman's family from 1752 and has been known as Tilghman Island ever since.

During the War of 1812 the island was briefly occupied by the British, who obtained provisions for their military forces. The community of Tilghman appeared in the 1840s. The economy shifted from farming to greater reliance on oystering and fishing as markets developed in Baltimore and Washington, aided by steamboat service in the 1890s.

Chapters18th century19th century20th centuryHistoric places

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Tilghman Island, 1883 to 1997

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1883Post officeThe Tilghman post office opens
  3. 1892Post officeThe Fairbank post office opens
  4. 1893On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 20th century
  6. 1900Post officeThe Avalon post office opens
  7. 1917In the archiveMaryland - St. Jerome Creek through Wicomico River
  8. 1942Post officeThe Fairbank post office closes
  9. 1965Post officeThe Avalon post office closes
  10. 1968In the archiveDETAIL OF DREDGE BASKET WITH HANDLING RINGS - KATHRYN-Two-sail Bateau "Skipjack", Dogwood…
  11. 1997In the archiveELEVATION WITH SPAN RAISED NEAR FULL OPEN POSITION - Tilghman Island Bridge, Spanning Kna…
By decade

Tilghman Island, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1910s to the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s2 items
Maryland - St. Jerome Creek through Wicomico River1917Maryland - St. Jerome Creek through Wicomico RiverMaryland - St. Jerome Creek through Wicomico River1917Maryland - St. Jerome Creek through Wicomico River
1920s–1950snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
1960s7 items
DETAIL OF DREDGE BASKET WITH HANDLING RINGS - KATHRYN-Two-sail Bateau "Skipjack", Dogwood Harbor, Chesapeake Bay, Tilgh…1968DETAIL OF DREDGE BASKET WITH HANDLING RINGS - KATHRYN…DETAIL OF DREDGE BASKET WITH OYSTERS - KATHRYN-Two-sail Bateau "Skipjack", Dogwood Harbor, Chesapeake Bay, Tilghman, Ta…1968DETAIL OF DREDGE BASKET WITH OYSTERS - KATHRYN-Two-sa…DREDGE ARRANGEMENT ALLOWS FOR TWO DREDGE BASKETS TO BE OUT AT ALTERNATING TIMES. WHILE STARBOARD IS HAULED IN, PORT IS …1968DREDGE ARRANGEMENT ALLOWS FOR TWO DREDGE BASKETS TO B…PORT BASKET EMPTIED AND OYSTERS HAND SORTED - KATHRYN-Two-sail Bateau "Skipjack", Dogwood Harbor, Chesapeake Bay, Tilgh…1968PORT BASKET EMPTIED AND OYSTERS HAND SORTED - KATHRYN…STARBOARD BASKET EMPTIED AND OYSTERS HAND SORTED - KATHRYN-Two-sail Bateau "Skipjack", Dogwood Harbor, Chesapeake Bay, …1968STARBOARD BASKET EMPTIED AND OYSTERS HAND SORTED - KA…STARBOARD DREDGE BASKET BEING HAULED WITH OYSTERS - KATHRYN-Two-sail Bateau "Skipjack", Dogwood Harbor, Chesapeake Bay,…1968STARBOARD DREDGE BASKET BEING HAULED WITH OYSTERS - K…STARBOARD PROFILE WITH DREDGE BASKET LINE OUT - KATHRYN-Two-sail Bateau "Skipjack", Dogwood Harbor, Chesapeake Bay, Til…1968STARBOARD PROFILE WITH DREDGE BASKET LINE OUT - KATHR…
1990s2 items
ELEVATION WITH SPAN RAISED NEAR FULL OPEN POSITION - Tilghman Island Bridge, Spanning Knapp's Narrows, Tilghman, Talbot…1997ELEVATION WITH SPAN RAISED NEAR FULL OPEN POSITION - …PORT DREDGE BASKET BEING HAULED WITH OYSTERS - KATHRYN-Two-sail Bateau "Skipjack", Dogwood Harbor, Chesapeake Bay, Tilg…1997PORT DREDGE BASKET BEING HAULED WITH OYSTERS - KATHRY…
Today24 recent
USNRL Signage2022USNRL SignageNRLTilghman2022NRLTilghman2022-06-21 12 22 22 View east at the west end of Maryland State Route 33 (Black Walnut Point Road) near Wharf Road in20222022-06-21 12 22 22 View east at the west end of Mary…2022-06-21 12 21 24 View west at the west end of Maryland State Route 33 (Black Walnut Point Road) near Wharf Road in20222022-06-21 12 21 24 View west at the west end of Mary…Tilghman Watermen's Museum MD12018Tilghman Watermen's Museum MD1Thomas Clyde pushboat MD12018Thomas Clyde pushboat MD1Thomas Clyde oystering gear MD12018Thomas Clyde oystering gear MD1Thomas Clyde bow Dogwood Harbor MD12018Thomas Clyde bow Dogwood Harbor MD1Thomas Clyde Dogwood Harbor MD12018Thomas Clyde Dogwood Harbor MD1Rebecca T. Ruark pushboat Dogwood Harbor MD12018Rebecca T. Ruark pushboat Dogwood Harbor MD1Rebecca T. Ruark bow Dogwood Harbor MD12018Rebecca T. Ruark bow Dogwood Harbor MD1Knapps Narrows drawbridge and boat MD12018Knapps Narrows drawbridge and boat MD1Hilda M. Willing pushboat Dogwood Harbor MD12018Hilda M. Willing pushboat Dogwood Harbor MD1Hilda M. Willing oystering gear MD12018Hilda M. Willing oystering gear MD1Hilda M. Willing and pushboat Dogwood Harbor MD12018Hilda M. Willing and pushboat Dogwood Harbor MD1Hilda M. Willing Dogwood Harbor MD22018Hilda M. Willing Dogwood Harbor MD2Hilda M. Willing Dogwood Harbor MD12018Hilda M. Willing Dogwood Harbor MD1Welcome to2013Welcome toRadio tower on2009Radio tower onSkipjack Thomas W. Clyde2008Skipjack Thomas W. ClydeSkipjack H.M. Krentz and pushboat2008Skipjack H.M. Krentz and pushboatResidential street on2007Residential street onMaryland Route 33 Drawbridge2007Maryland Route 33 DrawbridgeMDMap-doton-TilghmanIsland2004MDMap-doton-TilghmanIsland
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Maryland - St. Jerome Creek through Wicomico River
Retake this viewMaryland - St. Jerome Creek through Wicomico River, 1917

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Tilghman Island’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Tilghman Island

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1985
Sigsbee
SigsbeeVirginia W
Structures

Architectural styles listings

Chesapeake Bay Skipjack2
SigsbeeChesapeake Bay Skipjack
All 2 listings
Virginia WStructure · listed 1985

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Tilghman Island

Nobody well known was born in Tilghman Island itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
John BarthAmerican writer · b. 1930
Stephen Allen BensonFormer President of Liberia · b. 1816
Maggie RogersAmerican singer-songwriter · b. 1994
Philip Francis ThomasAmerican politician · b. 1810
Philemon DickinsonAmerican politician · b. 1739
Harry HughesAmerican politician · b. 1926
Help out

Finish Tilghman Island’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewMaryland - St. Jerome Creek through Wic…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Tilghman Island’s history

What is on the National Register in Tilghman Island?

Two places: the Sigsbee (listed 1985) and the Virginia W (1985).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (35), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.