Pocomoke River
Encyclopedia
The Pocomoke River stretches approximately 66 miles (106.2 km) from southern Delaware
through southeastern Maryland
in the United States
. At its mouth, the river
is essentially an arm of Chesapeake Bay
, whereas the upper river flows through a series of relatively inaccessible wetland
s called the Great Cypress Swamp
, largely populated by Loblolly Pine
, Red Maple
and Baldcypress
. The river is the easternmost river that flows into Chesapeake Bay and is reputed to be one of the deepest rivers for its width in the world. “Pocomoke” (ˈpoʊkɵmoʊk), though traditionally interpreted as "dark (or black) water" by local residents, is now agreed by scholars of the Algonquian languages
to be derived from the words for "broken (or pierced) ground," and likely referred to the farming practices of the surrounding indigenous peoples.
in southern Sussex County, Delaware
. From there, it flows south into Maryland, forming the boundary between Wicomico
and Worcester
counties and flowing through the swamp
s that are named for the river. At Porter's Crossing it turns southwest, broadening into a slow meander
ing river and flowing through the Pocomoke River State Forest
and Pocomoke River State Park
. It flows past Pocomoke City
, and enters Pocomoke Sound
on Chesapeake Bay on the state line between Maryland and Virginia
.
It receives Nassawango Creek
from the northwest approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) southwest of Snow Hill. It receives Dividing Creek
from the north approximately 1 mile northeast of Pocomoke City.
between Englishmen
. The dispute was between the Virginia Company
and Lord Baltimore, the proprietor of the Maryland Colony, over the rights to Kent Island
at the mouth of the Chester River
. The dispute was eventually resolved with a victory for the Maryland colonists.
During the colonial era, various landings
grew up along the river, some of which became towns, while others faded into obscurity with the decline of water-borne transport. From the mouth of the river, they are (or were), on the right bank: the landings at Shelltown
(called for many years Steamboat Landing) and Rehobeth
(both in Somerset County
), Puncheon Landing, Stevens Ferry, Cottinghams Ferry, Milburn Landing (now in the Milburn Landing section of the Pocomoke River State Park
), and Adams Wharf, all in Worcester County
. The landings on the left bank are (or were): Pitts Creek Landing in Accomack County, Virginia
, Cedar Hall Landing, Stevens Landing (also called Stevens Ferry, which became in turn Newtown and then Pocomoke City
), Cottinghams Ferry, Mattapony Landing (also known as Gibbs Ferry), and finally Snow Hill
, at the head of navigation, also all in Worcester County
.
In 1785, after years of disputes over fishing in Pocomoke Sound and on the Pocomoke River, Maryland and Virginia entered into an interstate compact that regulated fishing in the area, established a common and free waterway, and covered how criminal trials concerning each other's citizens should be handled. In Wharton v. Wise
, 153 U.S. 155 (1894), the Supreme Court of the United States
determined that Pocomoke Sound was not covered by this famous interstate compact.
In 1913, to provide better navigation, the mouth of the river was dredged by the United States Army Corps of Engineers
.
In the 1990s, a microorganism
outbreak on the lower river, possibly Pfiesteria piscicida
, led to widespread fish kill
s and illness among the watermen who fish the river and Pocomoke Sound. The illnesses included lesions, respiratory problems, and memory loss. As a result, the lower river and Pocomoke Sound were closed to fishing, boating, and swimming. It is currently hypothesized
that the microorganism was present before the outbreak but became toxic due to elevated concentrations of organic waste that had built up in this sprawling coastal plain
river.
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
through southeastern Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. At its mouth, the river
River
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
is essentially an arm of Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
, whereas the upper river flows through a series of relatively inaccessible wetland
Wetland
A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....
s called the Great Cypress Swamp
Great Cypress Swamp
The Great Cypress Swamp , is a forested freshwater swamp located on the Delmarva Peninsula in south Delaware and southeastern Maryland...
, largely populated by Loblolly Pine
Loblolly Pine
Pinus taeda is one of several pines native to the Southeastern United States, from central Texas east to Florida, and north to Delaware. It is particularly dominant in the eastern half of North Carolina, where there are huge expanses consisting solely of Loblolly Pine trees...
, Red Maple
Red Maple
Acer rubrum , is one of the most common and widespread deciduous trees of eastern North America. It ranges from the Lake of the Woods on the border between Ontario and Minnesota, east to Newfoundland, south to near Miami, Florida, and southwest to east Texas...
and Baldcypress
Taxodium
Taxodium is a genus of one to three species of extremely flood-tolerant conifers in the cypress family, Cupressaceae...
. The river is the easternmost river that flows into Chesapeake Bay and is reputed to be one of the deepest rivers for its width in the world. “Pocomoke” (ˈpoʊkɵmoʊk), though traditionally interpreted as "dark (or black) water" by local residents, is now agreed by scholars of the Algonquian languages
Algonquian languages
The Algonquian languages also Algonkian) are a subfamily of Native American languages which includes most of the languages in the Algic language family. The name of the Algonquian language family is distinguished from the orthographically similar Algonquin dialect of the Ojibwe language, which is a...
to be derived from the words for "broken (or pierced) ground," and likely referred to the farming practices of the surrounding indigenous peoples.
Description
It rises in several forks in the Great Cypress SwampGreat Cypress Swamp
The Great Cypress Swamp , is a forested freshwater swamp located on the Delmarva Peninsula in south Delaware and southeastern Maryland...
in southern Sussex County, Delaware
Sussex County, Delaware
Sussex County is a county located in the southern part of the U.S. state of Delaware. As of 2010 the population was 197,145, an increase of 25.9% over the previous decade. The county seat is Georgetown. The Seaford Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Sussex County.Sussex County is...
. From there, it flows south into Maryland, forming the boundary between Wicomico
Wicomico County, Maryland
As of the census of 2010, there were 98,733 people, 37,220 households, and 24,172 families residing in the county. The population density was 261.7 people per square mile . There were 41,192 housing units at an average density of 109.2 per square mile...
and Worcester
Worcester County, Maryland
-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*82.0% White*13.6% Black*0.3% Native American*1.1% Asian*0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*1.7% Two or more races*1.3% Other races*3.2% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...
counties and flowing through the swamp
Swamp
A swamp is a wetland with some flooding of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water. A swamp generally has a large number of hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodical inundation. The two main types of swamp are "true" or swamp...
s that are named for the river. At Porter's Crossing it turns southwest, broadening into a slow meander
Meander
A meander in general is a bend in a sinuous watercourse. A meander is formed when the moving water in a stream erodes the outer banks and widens its valley. A stream of any volume may assume a meandering course, alternately eroding sediments from the outside of a bend and depositing them on the...
ing river and flowing through the Pocomoke River State Forest
Pocomoke River State Forest
Pocomoke State Forest is a state forest of Maryland that lies on both banks of the Pocomoke River in Worcester County. The portion north of the Pocomoke lies between Dividing and Nassawango Creeks...
and Pocomoke River State Park
Pocomoke River State Park
Pocomoke River State Park is a state park of Maryland that lies on both banks of the Pocomoke River in Worcester County, located adjacent to the Pocomoke State Forest....
. It flows past Pocomoke City
Pocomoke City, Maryland
Pocomoke City, dubbed "the friendliest town on the Eastern Shore", is a city in Worcester County, Maryland, United States. Although renamed in a burst of civic enthusiasm in 1878, the city is regularly referred to by its inhabitants simply as Pocomoke...
, and enters Pocomoke Sound
Pocomoke Sound
Pocomoke Sound is a bay of the Chesapeake Bay that forms part of the boundary between the Eastern Shores of Maryland and Virginia. The Pocomoke River is the largest stream feeding into the Sound, which is bounded by Somerset County, Maryland on the north, Worcester County, Maryland, Accomack...
on Chesapeake Bay on the state line between Maryland and Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
.
It receives Nassawango Creek
Nassawango Creek
Nassawango Creek is the largest tributary of the Pocomoke River, located on the Delmarva Peninsula. Older variations on the same name include Nassanongo, Naseongo, Nassiongo, and Nassiungo meaning "[ground] between [the streams]"; early English records have it as Askimenokonson Creek, after a...
from the northwest approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) southwest of Snow Hill. It receives Dividing Creek
Dividing Creek (Maryland)
Dividing Creek is a tributary of the Pocomoke River on the Delmarva Peninsula. It rises in Wicomico County, Maryland, and forms the boundary between Somerset and Worcester counties....
from the north approximately 1 mile northeast of Pocomoke City.
History
In 1635 the mouth of the river was the scene of the first recorded battle in North AmericaNorth America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
between Englishmen
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The dispute was between the Virginia Company
Virginia Company
The Virginia Company refers collectively to a pair of English joint stock companies chartered by James I on 10 April1606 with the purposes of establishing settlements on the coast of North America...
and Lord Baltimore, the proprietor of the Maryland Colony, over the rights to Kent Island
Kent Island, Maryland
Kent Island is the largest island in the Chesapeake Bay, and a historic place in Maryland. To the east, a narrow channel known as the Kent Narrows barely separates the island from the Delmarva Peninsula, and on the other side, the island is separated from Sandy Point, an area near Annapolis, by...
at the mouth of the Chester River
Chester River
The Chester River is a major tributary of the Chesapeake Bay on the Delmarva Peninsula. It is about long, and its watershed encompasses , which includes of land. Thus the total watershed area is 20% water. It forms the border between Kent County and Queen Anne's County, Maryland, with its...
. The dispute was eventually resolved with a victory for the Maryland colonists.
During the colonial era, various landings
Landing (water transport)
A landing is a water terminal which may receive ferry passenger or cargo traffic from marine vessels. They may characterized by long wharves if they handle a large volume of cargo....
grew up along the river, some of which became towns, while others faded into obscurity with the decline of water-borne transport. From the mouth of the river, they are (or were), on the right bank: the landings at Shelltown
Shelltown, Maryland
Shelltown is an unincorporated community in Somerset County, Maryland, United States. It is near the mouth of the Pocomoke River and takes its name from the abundant number of oysters and crabs in the area....
(called for many years Steamboat Landing) and Rehobeth
Rehobeth, Maryland
Rehobeth is an unincorporated community in Somerset County, Maryland, United States. It is located at the east end of Old Rehobeth Road, off Rehobeth Road, on the bank of the Pocomoke River.-References:...
(both in Somerset County
Somerset County, Maryland
-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*53.5% White*42.3% Black*0.3% Native American*0.7% Asian*0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*1.7% Two or more races*1.5% Other races*3.3% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...
), Puncheon Landing, Stevens Ferry, Cottinghams Ferry, Milburn Landing (now in the Milburn Landing section of the Pocomoke River State Park
Pocomoke River State Park
Pocomoke River State Park is a state park of Maryland that lies on both banks of the Pocomoke River in Worcester County, located adjacent to the Pocomoke State Forest....
), and Adams Wharf, all in Worcester County
Worcester County, Maryland
-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*82.0% White*13.6% Black*0.3% Native American*1.1% Asian*0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*1.7% Two or more races*1.3% Other races*3.2% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...
. The landings on the left bank are (or were): Pitts Creek Landing in Accomack County, Virginia
Accomack County, Virginia
As of the census of 2010, there were 33,164 people, 15,299 households, and 10,388 families residing in the county. The population density was 84 people per square mile . There were 19,550 housing units at an average density of 43 per square mile...
, Cedar Hall Landing, Stevens Landing (also called Stevens Ferry, which became in turn Newtown and then Pocomoke City
Pocomoke City, Maryland
Pocomoke City, dubbed "the friendliest town on the Eastern Shore", is a city in Worcester County, Maryland, United States. Although renamed in a burst of civic enthusiasm in 1878, the city is regularly referred to by its inhabitants simply as Pocomoke...
), Cottinghams Ferry, Mattapony Landing (also known as Gibbs Ferry), and finally Snow Hill
Snow Hill, Maryland
Snow Hill is a town in Worcester County, Maryland, United States. The population was 2,409 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Worcester County.-History:...
, at the head of navigation, also all in Worcester County
Worcester County, Maryland
-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*82.0% White*13.6% Black*0.3% Native American*1.1% Asian*0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*1.7% Two or more races*1.3% Other races*3.2% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...
.
In 1785, after years of disputes over fishing in Pocomoke Sound and on the Pocomoke River, Maryland and Virginia entered into an interstate compact that regulated fishing in the area, established a common and free waterway, and covered how criminal trials concerning each other's citizens should be handled. In Wharton v. Wise
Wharton v. Wise
Wharton v. Wise, 153 U.S. 155 is a 9-to-0 ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States which denied a citizen of the state of Maryland a writ of habeas corpus...
, 153 U.S. 155 (1894), the Supreme Court of the United States
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
determined that Pocomoke Sound was not covered by this famous interstate compact.
In 1913, to provide better navigation, the mouth of the river was dredged by the United States Army Corps of Engineers
United States Army Corps of Engineers
The United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 38,000 civilian and military personnel, making it the world's largest public engineering, design and construction management agency...
.
In the 1990s, a microorganism
Microorganism
A microorganism or microbe is a microscopic organism that comprises either a single cell , cell clusters, or no cell at all...
outbreak on the lower river, possibly Pfiesteria piscicida
Pfiesteria piscicida
Pfiesteria piscicida is a dinoflagellate species of the genus Pfiesteria that some researchers claim is responsible for many harmful algal blooms in the 1980s and 1990s on the coast of North Carolina and Maryland...
, led to widespread fish kill
Fish kill
The term fish kill, known also as fish die-off and as fish mortality, is a localized die-off of fish populations which may also be associated with more generalised mortality of aquatic life...
s and illness among the watermen who fish the river and Pocomoke Sound. The illnesses included lesions, respiratory problems, and memory loss. As a result, the lower river and Pocomoke Sound were closed to fishing, boating, and swimming. It is currently hypothesized
Hypothesis
A hypothesis is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon. The term derives from the Greek, ὑποτιθέναι – hypotithenai meaning "to put under" or "to suppose". For a hypothesis to be put forward as a scientific hypothesis, the scientific method requires that one can test it...
that the microorganism was present before the outbreak but became toxic due to elevated concentrations of organic waste that had built up in this sprawling coastal plain
Atlantic Coastal Plain
The Atlantic coastal plain has both low elevation and low relief, but it is also a relatively flat landform extending from the New York Bight southward to a Georgia/Florida section of the Eastern Continental Divide, which demarcates the plain from the ACF River Basin in the Gulf Coastal Plain to...
river.
External links
- Pocomoke River State Park
- Pocomoke State Forest
- Univ. of Delaware: Pocomoke River Swamp
- Pocomoke River Watershed at USDA Natural Resources Conservation ServiceNatural Resources Conservation ServiceThe Natural Resources Conservation Service , formerly known as the Soil Conservation Service , is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture that provides technical assistance to farmers and other private landowners and managers.Its name was changed in 1994 during the Presidency of...
for DelawareDelawareDelaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...