When you cross the Chesapeake Bay Bridge from the west, the first county you’ll enter on the Eastern Shore is Queen Anne’s.

From the waters around the county, the Chesapeake, Eastern, and Prospect Bays, and the Wye and Chester Rivers, generations of Queen  Anne’s watermen have harvested fish, crabs, oysters, and clams, as well as such other less touted market products as eels, grass shrimp, and terrapins. Queen Anne’s farmers work about 209,000 acres or 88% of the county’s land mass, and are first in the state in producing corn, soybeans and wheat.

According to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Queen Anne’s County consists of 372 square miles of, and offers 414 miles of shoreline. The most recent U.S. Census Bureau data puts the population at 49,770.

The first settlement in what would become Maryland was founded on Queen Anne’s County’s Kent Island on August 21, 1631 by the Virginian fur trader and surveyor William Claiborne. Once Lord Baltimore of the Calvert family was granted, in 1632, a charter allowing him to establish his Maryland Colony, which happened to include Claiborne’s Isle of Kent, an on-again off-again war for control ensued that lasted almost thirty years. Claiborne finally lost his claim once and for all in 1658.

In the meantime, Kent Island, along with what is now Kent and northern Queen Anne’s County was deemed Kent Island County. Over the next few decades, until the official creation of Queen Anne’s in 1706, different parts of the region was assigned inclusion in various delineations of Kent and Talbot Counties. In 1773 a part of Queen Anne’s County, together with a portion of Dorchester County, was taken to form Caroline County.

A Queen Anne’s County timeline:

• 1609 – John Smith explores Upper Chesapeake Bay
• 1631 – William Claiborne establishes Kent Island
• 1632 – Maryland charter granted
• 1634 – St. Mary’s City founded
• 1638 – Isle of Kent made a Hundred of St. Mary’s County, Population: 120 men, and an unknown number of women, slaves and children.
• 1642 – Formation of Kent Island County
• 1650 – The Kent Island village of Broad Creek is becoming a small hub
• 1658 – Claiborne’s claims to Kent Island end
• 1665 – The future Queen Anne is born in England
• 1695 – Kent Island annexed to Talbot County
• 1700 – Regional Population: 3,000
• 1702 – Queen Anne crowned
• 1706 – Queen Anne’s County established
• 1708 – First county courthouse built in Queenstown
• 1714 – Queen Anne dies
• 1723 – Construction of causeway between Kent Island and mainland approved near present-day Kent Narrows
• 1724 – First free county school
• 1729 – Regular Ferry service operating between Broad Creek and Annapolis as part of a primary colonial trade route
• 1741 – Renowned portraitist Charles Wilson Peale born near Centreville
• 1755 – Population: 11,240
• 1760 – Agriculture focus shifts from tobacco to grain
• 1767 – Mason-Dixon line completed, part of which separates QA County from state of Delaware
• 1776 – American Independence – Delegates meet to frame Maryland’s first constitution, Defensive American troops stationed on Kent Island
• 1782 – County seat moved from Queenstown to Centreville
• 1791 – Construction begins on courthouse, now Maryland’s oldest in continual use
• 
• 1794 – First case heard in new courthouse, Centreville incorporated
• 1800 – Population: 14,857
• 1813 – War of 1812 – British occupy Kent Island for 10 days, Queenstown plundered, battle of Slippery Hill fought
• 1817 – First steamboat on the Chester River named Surprise
• 1820 – Economical reign of the oyster begins
• 1839 – William Grason from QAC sworn in as first Maryland Governor elected by popular vote
• 1856 – Queen Anne’s and Kent Railroad incorporated
• 1861-1865 – Civil War – Southern sympathies, occupied by federal troops, county soldiers fought on both sides of conflict
• 1866 – Steamboat landing established at Love point
• 1868 – Oyster navy chartered
• 1869 – Oyster War comes to Eastern Bay
• 1872 – Love Point Lighthouse constructed
• 1876 – Kent Narrows dredged, causeway removed, drawbridge built
• 1880 – Economic strengthening of Maryland Blue Crab market, Broad Creek fades as town of Stevensville grows
• 1889 – First QAC Volunteer Fire Department – Centreville Goodwill Fire Company
• 1900 – Population: 18,364
• 1902 – Centreville fire destroys much of town
• 1907 – Future Baseball Hall-of-Famer Jimmy Foxx born in Sudlersville
• 1919 – Claiborne-Annapolis ferry Company begins operation
• 1927 – First serious discussions of building Chesapeake Bay Bridge
• 1932 – Beloved Smokey Joe Ferry begins runs between Baltimore and Kent Island’s Love Point resort
• 1937 – Kennard School established, 1st and only secondary school for African Americans in QAC
• 1938 – Last passenger train to Love Point
• 1947 – Smokey Joe’s last run
• 1950 – Population: 14,579
• 1952 – Construction of the Bay Bridge completed
• 1965 – Chesapeake College, Maryland’s first regional college, chartered; abandoned Love Point Hotel burns down
• 1966 – Four county high schools replaced with one all-county school
• 1972 – Pioneer Point, an estate formerly owned by businessman and Empire State building visionary John J. Raskob, sold to USSR for embassy use
• 1973 – Second span of Chesapeake Bay Bridge opens
• 1981 – Kent Island celebrates 300^th anniversary
• 1990 – Modern girder bridge built over Kent Narrows
• 1998 – Second county high school opens on Kent Island
• 2006 –  Queen Anne’s County turns 300 years old

Noah Frahm of Frahm’s Flying Films says he “started out as a drone hobbyist with a zeal for creating high-quality aerial content. Now, I have become a commercial FAA licensed (Part 107) drone pilot who is looking to provide the same exceptional content for others.”

He says, “Whether you are a Real Estate Agent, a small business owner, or someone looking to create a memorable video of an event; drones offer a unique and unmatched perspective that can be used to reach your precise objective. We are here to serve your specific needs and provide a quality and price that simply cannot be found anywhere else. From using the latest in drone technology, we can create magazine quality photos, cinematic videos, and advanced 3D mapping.

With regards to his Queen Anne’s County tribute video, Noah says, “I traveled all around the county by car, boat, and on foot. I wanted to showcase both popular locations in QAC that everyone has seen, such as Kent Narrows, all the schools, downtown areas, etc. but also capture the beauty of the area that might only be seen by a drone.”

Check out and ‘like’ Noah’s Facebook page  Frahm’s Flying Films and contact him for services and prices at frahmflyingfilm@gmail.com

Books by Brent Lewis are available on Amazon.com

https://www.amazon.com/Brent-Lewis/e/B0028OIA0S

Remembering Kent Island: Stories from the Chesapeake and A History of the Kent Island Volunteer Fire Department published by Arcadia Publishing & The History Press:

https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/Home