Choptank Landing - The River North

Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author or not provided, public domain (cropped)

A stop on Harriet Tubman, a free self-guided tour.

Walk down to the landing and look up and down the Choptank, the largest river on the Delmarva Peninsula. For people escaping Dorchester County it was obstacle and road at once. It had to be crossed to reach Caroline County and Delaware, and its course pointed north toward free Black communities and Quaker allies.

In the 1850s Tubman's parents lived just up the road, and both were active in the Underground Railroad. Historians think she most likely began her own escape in 1849 from near here, though her exact route is unknown.

In November 1856 Josiah Bailey, a skilled ship carpenter enslaved on the Talbot County side, rowed about six miles up this river at night from Jamaica Point, passing this landing on his way to meet Ben Ross at Poplar Neck. Tubman then led Bailey and others all the way to Canada while a reward for his capture circulated.

Notice how the marsh hides the river until you are right on it. The last stop is just up Poplar Neck Road.

Getting here: Drive about 6 miles southwest through Preston to the village of Choptank, where Choptank Road ends at the river landing.

Did you know?: The river takes its name from the Choptank people, Algonquian-speaking Native Americans who lived along its banks long before European settlement.

Photo op: From the landing, frame the wide river with the marsh grass in the foreground, especially at sunset.

Nearby: Seasonal restrooms, a small beach, a marina and a public kayak launch.

More on Wikipedia: Choptank River · Choptank, Maryland

Choptank Landing - The River North

Stops on this tour