Claiborne, Maryland

Claiborne, Maryland
Claiborne is located in Maryland
Claiborne
Claiborne
Claiborne is located in the United States
Claiborne
Claiborne
Coordinates: 38°50′15″N 76°16′40″W / 38.83750°N 76.27778°W / 38.83750; -76.27778
CountryUnited States
StateMaryland
CountyTalbot
Elevation
3 ft (0.9 m)
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code
21624
Area code(s)410, 443, and 667
GNIS feature ID583793[1]

Claiborne is an unincorporated community in Talbot County, Maryland, United States. The village is located on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay near the mouth of the Eastern Bay at 38°50′15″N 76°16′40″W / 38.83750°N 76.27778°W / 38.83750; -76.27778, and uses ZIP code 21624. The 2000 U.S. Census listed the population as 147 and the number of homes as 84, slightly down from its 1941 population of 156. Between 1890 and 1930, the village was a busy port for passenger and then automobile ferry service across the Chesapeake Bay, with numerous stores and motels/resorts, including Maple Hall and the Bellfonte Hotel. A post office was added in 1893 and the Protestant Episcopal Church of Claiborne was built in 1898. In 1912, an elementary school and Methodist Church were added. Before 1912, students attended school in nearby McDaniel. The town's first school consisted of the kitchen of the local railroad pavilion, used as a classroom. In 1913, the town became home to the Claiborne Fresh Air Association, Inc., (“Miracle House”) which was formed for the purpose of providing 10 weeks of fresh air and summer vacation for children who had been exposed to tuberculosis. The role of Claiborne as a terminal for cross-Bay ferries was diminished in 1930 when the primary route shifted to Matapeake in Kent Island. It ended altogether in 1938 when the direct connection from Annapolis to Claiborne was terminated and only an auxiliary shuttle between Claiborne and Romancoke on Kent Island remained. This shuttle service ended in 1952, a few months after the opening of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge; thus ending all ferry service to Claiborne after more than six decades.

  1. ^ "Claiborne". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.