SEARCH   SmallTownGems:

History of Easton, Maryland

The county seat was officially named Easton by an act of legislation in 1788. The Court House was first built in 1711-1712 and expanded in1794 when the town served as the "capital of the Eastern Shore" for the early Federal period.

Quakerism's impact on Easton began in the late 1600s when the Third Haven Meeting House (1682-84) was constructed. This simplistic structure was meticulously restored in the early 1990s and is believed to be one of the oldest in the country.

Easton's first surge of affluence and building activity occurred after the War of 1812. Steamboats started plying the waters of the Tred Avon River in 1816 and made their way to Easton Point until their demise in 1932.