Located at the end of the road on Eastern Neck Island National Wildlife Refuge in Kent County, MD one comes to the Highway Historical Marker on the site where Wickliffe once stood.

It reads:
“Major Joseph Wickes, who settled on Eastern Neck Island c. 1658, was Chief Justice of Kent County. Before 1674 the Court met at Wickliffe, his home here (no longer standing). By 1680 he had acquired 864 acres, the southern half of the island, which he held until his death in 1692. His great-grandson Captain Lambert Wickes, who spent his early years here, served with distinction in the Continental Navy, was lost at sea with his Sloop-of-War Reprisal October 1, 1777.”

In the 1650’s the Maryland Colony was only a couple of decades old. The Island served as the County Seat while Major Wickes was Chief Justice. At this time Kent County was the only Maryland County east of the Chesapeake Bay. Although by 1661 Talbot County was known to be in existence. Somerset County was created in 1666 and about this same time so was Dorchester County. In 1674 Cecil County was created out of portions of Kent and Baltimore Counties.

The Maryland Historical Trust Historic Sites Survey K-274, reports that the house was demolished in 1935.

At this same location is a Memorial Monument for Captain Lambert Wickes. Lambert Wickes was born sometime in 1735 at the family home, Wickliffe on Eastern Neck Island. Captain Wickes is best known as the Continental Navy’s first commissioned officer in European waters with the Sloop of War, Reprisal. On October 24, 1776, Wickes was ordered transport Benjamin Franklin and his two grandson to France. Frankin was on America’s first diplomatic mission with. The United States had just declared Independence from Great Britain. The trip, which took a month, was harsh, cold, and uncomfortable.  On November 29, 1776 the ship arrived in Quiberon Bay/Nantes, France. This was the first time a Continental Navy vessel entered European waters.

A year later around October 1st, the Reprisal was lost off the banks of Newfoundland in a storm.

Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge
1730 Eastern Neck Road
Rock Hall, MD 21661-1815

Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge is a 2,285 acre island providing as a sanctuary for migratory birds and was established in 1962 by the federal government as a sanctuary for migratory birds, including bald eagles and transitory peregrine falcons — and is a major staging site for tundra swans.

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Along the roads in Maryland there are roadside historical markers. Hundreds on Maryland Eastern Shore. The program was launched in 1933 and is currently administered by the Maryland Historical Trust (MHT) in cooperation with the Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA).These roadside historical markers are an effective way to draw attention to the many events, people and places that have contributed to the history of Maryland and the nation.

I have posted pieces on many of these Historical Markers  Please come by to read them and learn a little about the remarkable people, places and events throughout the region.

Steve Atkinson