Denton, the county seat of Caroline County, is located on the eastern bank of the Choptank River near the geographic center of the county and of Maryland’s Eastern Shore. The town began as a small settlement on Pig Point, a small promontory on the Choptank River. In the early 1770s, the settlement was called Eden-Town in honor of Sir Robert Eden, the last governor of the colony of Maryland under the Proprietary. He served from 1768 to 1776. Soon after the Revolution, the name of the town was contracted to Edenton, and in 1781 it was shortened again to Denton.

A wharf was constructed at the settlement in 1792. In 1796, seven commis-sioners were appointed “to survey and lay out any quantity of land, not exceeding fifty acres, . . . to be erected into a village and to be called and known by the name of Denton . . . .” In 1827, a market place was opened where the current Masonic Hall now stands. Farm produce was sold there, as were slaves. In 1835, the first factory was built in Denton; it manufactured plows.

Early travel to Denton was by water. The steamboat Cyrus came up the Choptank River to Denton from Baltimore on at least one occasion before 1850. Later, the Dupont made the trip weekly with freight and passengers. In 1811, a bridge built across the Choptank at Denton greatly improved transportation from the west, enhancing the town’s position as a trade center. By the time of the Civil War, new stores, shops, schools, and churches had been constructed. Much of that progress was wiped out in 1863 when a company of Union soldiers celebrated the Fourth of July with skyrockets and other explosives that ended up causing a conflagration. Almost all of the business part of town was destroyed.

The downtown area has since been rebuilt, of course, and the town currently serves as the governmental and commercial center for Caroline County. Industrial activity has increased in recent years along with commercial and residential growth. The Choptank River no longer plays an important role in the town’s transportation needs. Maryland Route 404 provides Denton with excellent accessibility; the road is carried over the Choptank by a third-generation bridge. Lamps from the replaced second bridge now decorate the downtown area (see left).