Salisbury, Maryland
Salisbury (/ˈsɔːlzbəri/ SAWLZ-bə-ree) is a city in and the county seat of Wicomico County, Maryland, United States.[5] Salisbury is the largest city in the state's Eastern Shore region, with a population of 33,050 at the 2020 census. Salisbury is the principal city of the Salisbury, Maryland-Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is the commercial hub of the Delmarva Peninsula, which was long devoted to agriculture and had a southern culture. It calls itself "The Comfortable Side of Coastal".[1]
Salisbury
1732
1854
Randolph J. Taylor
- D'Shawn Doughty (President)
- Angela Blake (Vice President)
- Sharon Dashiell
- Michele Gregory
- April Jackson
14.28 sq mi (36.97 km2)
13.79 sq mi (35.70 km2)
0.49 sq mi (1.27 km2) 3.39%
26 ft (8 m)
33,050
2,397.53/sq mi (925.71/km2)
98,081
373,802
Salisburian
UTC−4 (Eastern)
24-69925
0591221
Crime[edit]
Notable crimes[edit]
Garfield King (c. 1880 – May 25, 1898) was a black man lynched by a mob in Salisbury.[28] He was hung next to the courthouse after he reportedly shot Herman Kenney, a 22-year-old white man with a revolver after arguing with him.[28]
In December 1931, Salisbury was the site of another lynching of a black man.[29] Matthew Williams was accused of murdering his white employer, Daniel J. (DJ) Elliot, at his office on Lake Street. The authorities found D.J. Elliot dead at his desk, his son, James Elliot present, and Matthew Williams incapacitated by several gunshot wounds. After being taken to Peninsula General Hospital, a 300-man white mob threw Williams from a second-floor window to the crowd below, where he was stabbed, tied to a truck and dragged three blocks to the county court house. There they hanged him from a tree, before he had any chance of a trial. The mob paraded Williams' body through the black part of Salisbury for intimidation, and mutilated and burned him. It was the 32nd lynching in Maryland since 1882.[30] No one was prosecuted for Williams' killing, as was typical in lynchings.[30] As of 2007, there was no commemoration of the extrajudicial killing.[31][32]
A 2017 memorial for Matthew Williams reignited the call for commemoration of the lynchings, with the known location of Matthew Williams' lynching (Wicomico County Circuit Courthouse lawn) emerging as the focal point. On this site, however, stood a sign some saw as antithetical to the sacred nature of the site as the location of one of the last lynchings in Maryland: a marker commemorating Confederate General John H. Winder. A 2018 documentary film (The Sign)[33] was produced, documenting and unraveling the complexities of this conflict, "exposing deep wounds from the complicated history of the Eastern Shore."
In January 2020, Mayor Jake Day announced the formation of a Lynching Memorial Task Force[34] which was tasked with "coordinating with the Equal Justice Initiative's Community Remembrance Project to facilitate the creation of a permanent monument in honor and solemn remembrance of the three American citizens who lost their lives at the hands of lynch mobs in Wicomico County."[35]
On July 5, 2023, a mass shooting occurred during a block party just outside of the city limits, leading to the death of a 14-year-old child and seven other injuries.[36] Following an investigation involving the Wicomico County Sheriff's Office and the Salisbury Police Department, the suspected shooter was arrested on September 11.[37]
Education[edit]
Public schools are under the jurisdiction of Wicomico County Public Schools. Several private institutions maintain academic programs within the city.
Post secondary:
Public: Salisbury University and Wor-Wic Community College
Secondary:
Public: James M. Bennett High School, Parkside High School, Wicomico High School, Salisbury Middle School, Wicomico Middle School, and Bennett Middle School
Private: Faith Baptist School, Salisbury Baptist Academy, St. Francis de Sales, Salisbury Christian School, Stepping Stones Learning Academy, The Salisbury School, and Wicomico Day School
Elementary:
Public: Chipman, East Salisbury, Glen Avenue, North Salisbury, Pemberton, Pinehurst, Prince Street, West Salisbury, and Westside Intermediate
Private: Faith Baptist School, Salisbury Christian School, St. Francis de Sales, Stepping Stones Learning Academy, The Salisbury School, and Wicomico Day School
Libraries:
Some of the libraries in Salisbury are branches of the Wicomico Public Library. The Paul S. Sarbanes branch, the largest branch in the system, is located in downtown Salisbury.[54]
Organizations[edit]
Community participation through various groups fosters friendliness and betterment. Organizations that sponsor events within the city include: Salisbury Area Chamber of Commerce, The Salisbury Junior Chamber of Commerce (aka Salisbury Jaycees), Junior Achievement of the Eastern Shore, Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore, Salisbury Symphony Orchestra, Salisbury Community Band,[86] Community Players of Salisbury, and the Peace Alliance of the Lower Shore.[87] Several churches within the community also boast impressive musical programs, notably Wicomico Presbyterian Church and Asbury United Methodist Church.[88] Salisbury also contains a number of scout troops, chartered at organizations across the city.
Salisbury's sister cities are:[89][90]
Transportation[edit]
Salisbury is served by two major highways—U.S. Route 13, one of the major north–south routes of the Delmarva Peninsula, and U.S. Route 50, one of the major east–west routes on the peninsula. US 13 connects Salisbury to Dover, Delaware and Norfolk, Virginia and is known as the Ocean Highway, while US 50 serves as the main route between the Baltimore/Washington region and many of the major cities on Delmarva, including Ocean City; it is known as the Ocean Gateway. US 13 and US 50 originally passed through the central business district, but have been subsequently rerouted onto the Salisbury Bypass, a 3/4 beltway around the city that allows through traffic on US 13 and US 50 to bypass the downtown area; earlier routes of both highways are now U.S. Route 13 Business and U.S. Route 50 Business. Earlier still, US 13 was routed along Division Street and US 50 along Main Street.
The city is also served by Maryland Route 12, a rural highway that connects Salisbury to the town of Snow Hill, and Maryland Route 349, a rural highway that connects Salisbury to Nanticoke and Quantico.
The Delmarva Central Railroad provides freight rail service to Salisbury.[91]
The city is served by daily scheduled American Eagle service to both Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Charlotte, North Carolina at the Wicomico Regional Airport. Additionally, the Port of Salisbury offers respite for recreational boaters and commercial tug boats.[92] Salisbury's navigable stop on the Wicomico River is the second largest and second busiest commercial port in Maryland.[93][94]
The city is also served by Shore Transit, which provides local bus service throughout the city, and also services points outside the city within the tri-county area, such as Ocean City's public transportation system. The major transfer point is on Calvert Street, in downtown Salisbury.[95]
Greyhound Lines provides intercity bus service to Salisbury from a bus stop at the Shore Transit Tri-County facility. From this stop, direct service is provided to various locations including the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City, Wilmington, Delaware, the Baltimore Greyhound Terminal in Baltimore, Norfolk, Virginia, and Richmond, Virginia.[96] BayRunner Shuttle offers shuttle service from the Baltimore-Washington International Airport and the BWI Rail Station to Salisbury.[97] Amtrak Thruway service is available via the BayRunner Shuttle to the BWI Rail Station.[98]
