Unlike most towns, Ridgely did not “just grow”—it was planned in total before a single house was built. The plan was not for a country town, but for a city with wide streets and avenues, parks and boulevards, factories and stores, and a busy riverfront hosting docks and shipyards.

It was a noble dream concocted in the post Civil War land-speculation and railroad boom that rolled across the Delmarva Peninsula in the 1860s. To bring the dream to reality, in 1867 the Maryland and Baltimore Land Association bought a parcel of land that includes present-day Ridgely. One of the sellers was the Rev. Greenbury W. Ridgely, for whom the city was named.

In spite of its auspicious start, the young city was doomed to failure. The Land Association overextended and went bankrupt during its first year of operation, leaving the community with two homes, two stores, a railroad station, and a hotel. One of those homes, known today as “The Ridgely House,” now serves as the Town Hall and showcase for a collection of historic memorabilia.

Following the demise of the Land Association, Ridgely gradually grew as a rural center of commerce and industry on the Maryland and Delaware Railroad line. That era ended in the 1950s, when the shift from railroad to highway transportation brought economic change to the town.

The dream of 1867 evaporated, but the legacy of the founders’ big-city design is reflected in the vigorous blend of commerce, industry, and residential development that the present day townspeople have attained. That they have achieved this while maintaining a pleasant village-like atmosphere enhances the truly unique character of Ridgely.