Chestertown Tea Party Festival
Every Memorial Day weekend, Chestertown and the local citizenry drop everything to focus on the famous Chestertown Tea Party Festival, three days of events, music, vendors, and historical reenactment. But where does this strong, beloved tradition come from?
In 1774, Chestertown residents heard that the port of Boston had been closed in response to its infamous tea party, when citizens, many disguised as Native Americans, boarded three ships and dumped their cargo of tea into the harbor in response to Great Britain’s Tea Act and the subsequent tax on the tea. If there were no cargo, it couldn’t be consumed or taxed. Chestertown’s own Sons of Liberty chapter quickly drafted a list of complaints called the “Chestertown Resolves,” which declared that buying, selling, or drinking tea shipped from England was unlawful and traitorous. The story that has been repeated as long as anyone can remember says that in May 1774, when the ship Geddes arrived in the port of Chestertown carrying a cargo of English tea, angry patriots gathered in the town square and proceeded down High Street to the harbor where they forcibly boarded the ship and threw its cargo into the Chester River.
This long-repeated story, however, is but a legend. While it is a verifiable fact
that the Geddes was in Chestertown in May, 1774, and while it is true that the Chestertown
Resolves were drafted (and that citizens were no doubt annoyed that their tea was
going to sharply increase in price), there is no record of the dramatic protest and
boarding of the ship to dispose of its cargo. Documents and newspapers of that era
make no mention of the exciting event. The earliest mention of the tea party “revolt”
doesn’t happen until 1899, in a printed pamphlet promoting Chestertown (an early travel
brochure, if you will.) The author of the pamphlet was Fred G. Usilton, a local newspaperman…and
like other newspapermen of his day (has anyone heard of the Snallygaster?), Mr. Usilton
was known to embellish facts for the sake of a good story.
Of course, the absence of evidence doesn’t prove that it never happened. Maybe someday, someone will unearth a document, diary, or distant newspaper article that backs up Mr. Usilton’s exciting tale.
For now, let’s just enjoy the verifiable fact that Chestertown is a lovely place, especially in May. Head down to the waterfront on Memorial Day Weekend (or as we call it here, Tea Party Weekend) and celebrate the freedoms we have, while sipping local brews, lemonade, or an herbal concoction. But definitely not English tea, at least for a day, in remembrance.
