All Historic Buildings in Salisbury

Originally founded in 1925 on Salisbury’s Main Street as Kahelas Israel Congregation, Beth Israel is the only conservative congregation on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. At the time, only nine Jewish families were present in the Salisbury area and the number of families remain few. Despite this and several migrations from building to building, the synagogue has survived as a safe Read more...

The Franklin Hotel was a hotel catering to African Americans when segregation was enforced. The building was constructed in 1930 and was known as the Mainlake Building. The bottom floor hosted a restaurant and four spaces for shops while the second floor held apartments. In 1955 the Franklin Hotel was established by Melvin E. and Donzelle Hutt and the hotel Read more...

Built in 1838, the Chipman Center is the oldest standing African-American church on Delmarva. It occupies the site of a former open meadow where slaves gathered for worship services conducted by Methodist circuit riders. In 1837 five local freedmen began holding services in a small red-pine slab building on the property of William Williams. Funds were raised to purchase the Read more...

In 1795, Major Levin Handy took out a deed for 357 acres of the original 700 acre land patent called “Pembertons Good Will.” The house Handy began in 1795-96 was an ambitious Federal-style structure, outdistancing most buildings in the area in size and fine detail. When Handy died, the unfinished house was eventually sold to Dr. John Huston, Salisbury’s first surgeon, who Read more...