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Delmarva - those portions of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia which form the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay - is a unique and important region of the United States with a rich history and culture. From pre-colonial times to the present, this region and its people have been major contributors and participants in the growth and development of America. The 180-mile peninsula lies between the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean and is one of the early seedbeds of American settlement. Somerset County, officially erected in 1666, is on the lower portion of the Delmarva Peninsula.

American Origins, a pilot project and a work in progress, is presented by the Edward H. Nabb Research Center for Delmarva History and Culture at Salisbury University. It is a digital archive, utilizing GIS technology, focusing on the settlement period of 1663 through 1759. The database consists of records pertaining to the inhabitants of the neck of land just south of the Wicomico River in Somerset County, Maryland currently referred to as Mt. Vernon. This area, formerly known as the Hungary Neck district, contained portions of the Monie and Wicomico Hundreds during the colonial period.

Additionally, maps of Somerset, Wicomico, and Worcester counties as shown in The 1877 Atlases and Other Early Maps of the Eastern Shore of Maryland, depict businesses, churches, and family residences as they existed during the latter part of the nineteenth century.

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This publication has been financed in part with State Funds from the Maryland Historical Trust, an agency of the Department of Housing and Community Development of the State of Maryland. However, the contents and opinions do not necessarily reflect the view or policies of the Maryland Historical Trust or the Department of Housing and Community Development.