Lynchings on Maryland's Lower Eastern Shore: Racial Terror: The Ku Klux Klan on Delmarva in the 1920s

From 1922 to 1925, the Ku Klux Klan thrived on the Delmarva Peninsula, especially Maryland’s Lower Eastern Shore, as it organized across the country. The activities and beliefs of the white supremacist organization perpetuated and coincided with the racial terror that people of color experienced through lynchings and attempted lynchings. This guide offers sources that document those local activities as they appeared in local newspapers, providing historical record of the KKK in Somerset, Wicomico, Worcester, and Dorchester Counties.

source: Delaware Public Archives, https://archives.delaware.gov/one-hundred-stories-exhibit/other-stories/a-rally-of-hate/

On Maryland’s Lower Eastern Shore, the KKK was predominately active through lectures and speeches on “Americanism” and perceived racial superiority of white American Protestants, as well as cross burning ceremonies, parades, and vigilantism against primarily Black men who were suspected thieves, bootleggers, debtors, and in interracial relationships.

Click on the points on the map for information about particular Klan meetings or instances of Klan activity. All points are based upon media coverage from local and national newspapers accessible in the guide. It is likely the actual extent of Klan activity on the Delmarva Peninsula exceeds the amount of meetings and activity publicized.

Blue Point = Event Took Place in Town/Area

Red Points= Exact Location of Event within Town/Area

Accessing the map layers via the sidebar on the top will allow meetings/events to be viewed by year