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Chronicling America
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Newspaper Worcester Democrat and the Ledger-Enterprise (Pocomoke City, Md.) 1921-1953

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About Worcester Democrat and the Ledger-Enterprise (Pocomoke City, Md.) 1921-1953

Established in 1880 in Pocomoke City by Samuel M. Crockett, the Worcester Democrat merged with the Ledger-Enterprise in January 1921 to form the Worcester Democrat and the Ledger-Enterprise. The Ledger-Enterprise had been founded in 1896 by the merger of the Peninsula Ledger and the Worcester Enterprise with W.B. Vane as editor. The Worcester Democrat merged with Democratic Messenger of Snow Hill on March 1, 1973 to form the Worcester County Messenger.

Samuel M. Crockett (1864-1922) served in the Maryland House of Delegates as a Democrat for two terms, 1920-1922. His obituary in the Democratic Messenger newspaper on August 26, 1922 noted that he learned the newspaper business as a young man printing the Somerset Herald in Princess Anne, Somerset County, Maryland.

Originally known as Newtown, Pocomoke City was renamed in 1878 during a time of major growth and development for the town. Local boosters chose the name anticipating its emergence as a center of business and industry on the lower Eastern Shore of Maryland. Its location close to the mouth of the Pocomoke River supported maritime industries including the Clarke and Tull shipyards. Bay craft built in Pocomoke City and later the railroad, which arrived in the 1880s, allowed for the transport of lumber, fresh and canned agricultural goods north to Baltimore/Philadelphia and south to Norfolk/Hampton Roads. The town’s success was slowed by catastrophic fires that destroyed much of the business district and housing in 1866, 1888, 1892, and 1922. Of the later, the Worcester Democrat reported that “plans were already underway for a bigger and better city.” However, the financial strain caused by these losses, as well as the collapse of shipbuilding and the rise of competing towns, such as Salisbury, meant that news in Pocomoke City remained that of a small town variety. A major attraction covered by the Worcester Democrat was the Pocomoke Fair, which hosted annual exhibitions from 1901-1917 and included carnival rides, baseball games, and horse races.

On June 14, 1906, Pocomoke City was the site of a lynching when African American farmhand Edd Watson was murdered by a mob. News coverage of lynchings on the lower Eastern Shore gained more national attention in 1931 when the noted Baltimore writer and critic, H.L. Mencken, harshly criticized the local press for not condemning the mob that lynched Matthew Williams in nearby Salisbury. Columns in the Baltimore Evening Sun reprinted editorials from the Worcester Democrat that responded to Mencken, which he used to illustrate his negative characterization of residents of the Eastern Shore. On October 17, 1933, a Pocomoke City resident, George Armwood, was lynched by a mob in Princess Anne where he had been jailed on rape charges. This was the last known lynching in Maryland.

Provided By: University of Maryland, College Park, MD

About this Newspaper

Title

  • Worcester Democrat and the Ledger-Enterprise (Pocomoke City, Md.) 1921-1953

Dates of Publication

  • 1921-1953

Created / Published

  • Pocomoke City, Md. : Sam'l. M. Crockett

Headings

  • -  Pocomoke City (Md.)--Newspapers
  • -  Worcester County (Md.)--Newspapers
  • -  Maryland--Pocomoke City
  • -  Maryland--Worcester County
  • -  United States--Maryland--Worcester--Pocomoke City

Genre

  • Newspapers

Notes

  • -  Weekly
  • -  Began in 1921?
  • -  -v. 73, no. 39 (Sep. 24, 1953).
  • -  Archived issues are available in digital format from the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection.
  • -  Description based on: Vol. 41, no. 2 (Jan. 8, 1921).
  • -  Worcester Democrat (Pocomoke City, Md. : 1953) (DLC)sn 89060128 (OCoLC)20373133

Medium

  • v.

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Newspaper

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn89060127

OCLC Number

  • 20373124

ISSN Number

  • 2577-2503

Preceding Titles

Succeeding Titles

Additional Metadata Formats

Availability

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress believes that the newspapers in Chronicling America are in the public domain or have no known copyright restrictions. Newspapers published in the United States more than 95 years ago are in the public domain in their entirety. Any newspapers in Chronicling America that were published less than 95 years ago are also believed to be in the public domain, but may contain some copyrighted third party materials. Researchers using newspapers published less than 95 years ago should be alert for modern content (for example, registered and renewed for copyright and published with notice) that may be copyrighted. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item and securing any necessary permissions ultimately rests with persons desiring to use the item.

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Worcester Democrat and the Ledger-Enterprise Pocomoke City, Md. -1953. (Pocomoke City, MD), Jan. 1 1921. https://www.loc.gov/item/sn89060127/.

APA citation style:

(1921, January 1) Worcester Democrat and the Ledger-Enterprise Pocomoke City, Md. -1953. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/sn89060127/.

MLA citation style:

Worcester Democrat and the Ledger-Enterprise Pocomoke City, Md. -1953. (Pocomoke City, MD) 1 Jan. 1921. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/sn89060127/.