A history of Chestertown,
since 1706
Postcards, papers and photographs of Chestertown from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗Indigenous peoples have lived in what is now Chestertown for thousands of years. At the time of European colonization, the primary tribe on the Eastern Shore was the Nanticoke. In Nanticoke oral tradition, their ancestors migrated south from "the land of snow and ice" through the Ohio Valley and the Allegheny Mountains until they reached the Eastern Shore. The Nanticokes spoke an Algonquian language.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowFinish Chestertown’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
1 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewJune 1964 DETAIL OF CHIMNEY PIECE…, 1933: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Chestertown, decade by decade
CommonsJune 1964 DETAIL OF CHIMNEY PIECE, THIRD FLOOR EAST BEDROOM…1933
CommonsJune 1964 DETAIL OF FACADE PILASTER CAPITAL AND CORNICE - S…1933
CommonsJune 1964 FACADE - Smyth-Letherbury House, 107 Water Street1933
CommonsJune 1964 GENERAL NORTH VIEW OF PARLOR - Smyth-Letherbury H…1933
CommonsJune 1964 GENERAL VIEW, DINING ROOM OF REAR WING (DEMOLISHE…1933
CommonsJune 1964 INTERIOR DETAIL OF BASEMENT DOOR OPENING FROM REA…1933
CommonsJune 1964 REAR BASEMENT DOOR OF ORIGINAL STRUCTURE IN OPEN …1933
CommonsJune 1964 SOUTH VIEW, SECOND FLOOR HALL SHOWING STAIRHALL A…1933
CommonsKent County Courthouse, Jail, Cross Street1933
CommonsKent County Courthouse, Jail, Cross Street1933
CommonsKent County Courthouse, Jail, Cross Street1933
CommonsKent County Courthouse, Jail, Cross Street19331990s
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as June 1964 DETAIL OF CHIMNEY PIECE, THIRD FLOOR EAST BEDROOM - Smyth-Letherbury House, 107 Water Street (1933) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (12). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.