Where We Are
The Eastern Shore of Maryland is a kind of microcosm of American history, a place where the past is always present. Its winding roads and waterways were once traveled by Native American hunters and 17th-century settlers; Revolutionary War soldiers and 1960s Freedom Riders.
The Chesapeake Tidewater region has been called one of America’s last colonial landscapes, its environmental history exceptionally rich. As important, the vibrant local community is replete with nonprofit groups, religious communities, and individuals engaged with American history in a multitude of ways.
Although the area can feel like a rural enclave — its population barely larger than in the 18th century — it also lies at the center of the busy mid-Atlantic corridor: equidistant from Washington, Baltimore, and Philadelphia, and not too much farther from New York City. This has facilitated important connections and collaborations with major institutions in all of those places, including several significant partnerships with the Smithsonian.
Chestertown itself, situated on the tidal Chester River, is a beautiful small college
town with a welcoming spirit, a diverse population, dozens of 18th- and 19th-century buildings, and a thriving arts scene.