Maryland's First Wild & Scenic River
Geography
The Pocomoke originates in the Great Cypress Swamp on the Maryland-Delaware border and flows 55 miles through Maryland before it empties into the Pocomoke Sound at the Chesapeake Bay. Its total length is 73 miles.
About 400 feet wide below Snow Hill, the depth of the Pocomoke ranges from 7 to 45 feet, averaging about 15 feet. Its tea color, characteristic of cypress swamps, comes from tannic acid in the roots and decaying leaves of trees and plants that line its banks.
History
History flows in the deep, amber waters of the Pocomoke River. Local tradition says that the word Pocomoke is an Indian word that means Black water. Modern scholars attribute the word to Algonquin-speaking tribes whose name for the river meant pierced or broken ground.
Shipbuilding, brick manufacturing, the smelting of iron from bog ore found in the swamps along the Pocomoke, and the shipping of tobacco and lumber flourished throughout the late 1700s and early 1800s. Pocomoke City and the county seat, Snow Hill, were the principal developments along the river.
Through the years, deserting Union and Confederate troops, underground railroaders, bootleggers and smugglers, all found refuge in the brackish streams and cuts beneath the tall cypress covered with trailing vines.
Family Activities
The Pocomoke River region offers a wide range of outdoor activities, including hiking, bicycling, camping, canoeing, hunting, as well as river cruises. Scenic roads crisscross the river. Swimming in the river, however, is not recommended because of strong currents and deep channels.
The Pocomoke River State Forest and Park (including Milburn and Shad Landing Areas) and the Pocomoke River Wildlife Management Area are favorite haunts for nature studies and birdwatching.
Nature lovers can follow the Paul Leifer boardwalk trail through the cypress swamp at Furnace Town, visit the Nassawango Creek Nature Preserve, walk the Pusey Branch Nature Trail, enjoy the floating boardwalk of the Pocomoke City Nature & Exercise Trail, or hike the marked trails at Shad and Milburn Landing Areas.
Picnicking, fishing and boating are available year-round at Shad and Milburn Landing Areas.Campgrounds at both areas are open from April through November. Shad is the larger facility,with a marina, a commissary, a washhouse, a snack bar, and rowboat and canoe rentals, all open May through October. In addition, there is a public swimming pool at Shad and a Nature Center with summer programs and outdoor education activities.
Fishing
Amateur, novice and expert fishermen will find the tidal Pocomoke uniquely challenging. Yellow and white perch, eel, gar, sunfish, pickerel, catfish, crappie, bluegill, herring, spot croakers, bluefish and largemouth bass will tease and taunt the best of the rod'n'reelers.
Certain areas of the river banks have been designated as Free Fishing Areas where no Chesapeake Bay Sport Fishing License is required. The free fishing areas include only the river banks where so marked. Fishing from a craft requires a license.
Text is from: http://www.worc.lib.md.us/tourism/
outdoor_rec/pocomoke.html
The Pocomoke River and Sound is one of the region's major natural features. Seventy-three miles in length, the Pocomoke originates in the Great Cypress Swamp on the Delaware-Maryland border and flows approximately 60 miles through Maryland into Pocomoke Sound at the Chesapeake Bay. Since the earliest human occupation of the watershed, the Pocomoke River and its related lands have been used for a variety of purposes--drinking water, fishing, hunting, trapping, shipping, timber, agriculture, commerce (in 1994 332,470 tons were shipped on the Pocomoke. Estimated value: $5.5 million) and recreation. This legacy is rich in traditional skills, artifacts and lore. The river environment serves as the location for the homes of many residents, as well as habitat for numerous plants and animals. In response to these natural, cultural, and economic values, local interests have demonstrated a great deal of interest in and care of the area. The Pocomoke River was designated a Maryland Scenic and Wild River, which suggests the importance of the River to residents and the care they take in protecting its natural qualities.
The Pocomoke River Swamp is an important feature of the watershed, known for its compiles of plant and animal species. At over 30 miles long and one-half to two miles wide, the swamp is one of the major cypress swamps in the United States--the most northern of the southern riverine swamps and the larges bald cypress-black gum swamps in the state.
The Maryland Field Office of The Nature Conservancy has worked to protect portions of these unique plant communities at Nassawango Creek, Pocomoke State Forest and Park, and other areas.
Recognition for the river and its resources is plentiful and increasing. The Pocomoke River and Sound, at the mouth of the river in Virginia and Maryland, and including Tangier Sound, has been recognized by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and others as one of the largest shellfish producing areas in the Chesapeake Bay. The river was listed by the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, in the Nationwide Rivers Inventory; featured as a "Great River of America" by the National Park Service State and Local River Conservation Assistance Program; and identified as a potential regional greenway by the Maryland Greenways Commission.
Recently, the Pocomoke was recognized as a bass fishery in Field and Stream magazine and as "the last undiscovered river" for recreational boating in Chesapeake Bay magazine. Of course, local residents and "informed" travelers from other areas have long known about the special qualities of the Pocomoke and have been enjoying them for generations.
Text is from: Lower Eastern Shore Heritage Plan, The Lower Eastern Shore Heritage Committee, Inc. May 25, 1993 (rev. February 2, 1994)
