19. Bestpitch Ferry Bridge

Marshland Secrets to Escape

Bestpitch Ferry Bridge is located at the site of a former ferry over the Transquaking River. This historic wooden bridge provides a view of Dorchester County marshlands. In this countryside, knowledgeable local people could hide for days, even weeks, and follow the waterways north toward Underground Railroad connections in the East New Market area, Caroline County, and onto freedom.

Many free and enslaved African American watermen operated ferry crossings throughout the region. They transported agricultural and timber products along the region’s many rivers on rafts. This provided opportunities for freedom seekers to hitch a ride or stow away in the holds and sail away to freedom.

The Blackwater and Transquaking rivers and their estuaries provided opportunities for local residents to hunt, fish and gather food for survival. Abundant fish and fowl live and breed in these waters, and many small and larger animals, including muskrats, rabbits, squirrels and deer live in nearby marshes and woods. Nuts, berries and a variety of roots and herbs round out the possible food and medicinal supplements available to 19th-century residents.