Around St. Michaels

Book excerpt: Images of America: Around St. Michaels is a visual journey of a town and surrounding countryside through two centuries of life on the water, at work, and at leisure. Known as "the town that fooled the British" during the War of 1812, St. Michaels has continued to inspire independent spirits such as abolitionist Frederick Douglass, novelist James Michener, and the Victorian-era poetess Amelia Welby, whose work was admired by Edgar Allan Poe. These vintage photographs and postcards, featuring everything from antebellum mansions to the skipjacks on the Miles River, were compiled from the St. Michaels Museum at St. Mary's Square, Talbot County Historical Society, Talbot County Library, and private collections. This volume documents the women and men of African, West Indian, and European descent who shaped the history of this landmark scenic town on the Chesapeake Bay.