A Town at the Head of the River: Salisbury and Environmental Change
This group of five chapters considers the history of the development of the town of Salisbury. Beginning with Colonel Isaac Handy, builder of the local historical site, Pemberton Hall, practically across the river from a settlement site of the Wicomico Indians, and ending with the 2002 mayoral race (and debates about wastewater treatment), this group of five papers makes clear the ways in which the river has shaped the placement, the development, and the spread of human communities in this region. Without the river, there would have been no Salisbury. Just as clearly, once attracted to settle in this area, people instantly began transforming the landscape, a process that continues to this day. And with every new home built in this watershed, with every new dam or factory constructed, the river changes - sometimes for good, often for ill.
Chapter 1: Pemberton Historical Park: A Monument to the Past, a Reflection of the Present
Chapter 2: The Heart of Salisbury
Chapter 3: Planning for the Future
Chapter 4: Segregation Lingers in Wicomico County
Chapter 5: Canoe Down a River of Sewage