VIDEO: Wicomico County’s 1st State Park – Wetipquin Creek State Park
Wetipquin Creek State Park – is the first state park in Wicomico County. Maryland Natural Resources officials offered local officials a preview Tuesday as the State of Maryland celebrated the acquisition of the 445-acre property that will become Wetipquin Creek State Park. The park is currently in the planning stages, but will conserve and foster an appreciation of the natural resources of the Delmarva Peninsula. The park was named by the Maryland Park Service for the creek that flows through it and empties into the Nanticoke River.
Additional information from MD DNR:
The property contains the historic and architecturally significant house known as Long Hill, which dates back to the mid-18th century and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
Places like Wetipquin Creek State Park remind us that conservation is about more than protecting land. It is about protecting memory, culture, and opportunity for future generations,” said Maryland DNR Secretary Josh Kurtz. “This bucolic and historic site will conserve and foster an appreciation of the natural resources and history of Maryland’s lower Eastern Shore.”
The Park Service plans to offer a variety of interpretive and educational programs, tours, and events exploring the region’s history, including the Long Hill plantation house, the lives of enslaved people at Long Hill, the history of Indigenous peoples in the region, and 18th- and 19th-century farm life on the Eastern Shore.
“Maryland State Parks are managed to reflect the natural and historic character of the communities they represent for the enjoyment of our residents and visitors,” said Maryland Park Service Director Ranger Angela Crenshaw “That’s what we will provide here at Wetipquin Creek State Park.”
Upon Wetipquin Creek State Park’s opening, every county in Maryland will contain at least one state park.
DNR received approval to purchase the 445-acre property in 2024 and completed the $3.3 million transaction earlier this year. Previous owner Donald Graham was in attendance and delivered remarks. Long Hill derives its historical significance from its long association with the Dashiell family, several of whom took an active role in the affairs of colonial Maryland. Graham, a descendant of the Dashiells, acquired the property because of its historical and personal significance. He and his family meticulously cared for the home’s historic features and also protected the environmental significance of the property, including working with DNR’s Maryland Environmental Trust to create a conservation easement in 2016.
As with many large Maryland farms in colonial times and the early years of the republic, Long Hill used many enslaved African Americans for labor. Local descendants of these enslaved workers were in attendance for Tuesday’s event. The park’s historic presentations and signage will tell the stories of those enslaved and the importance of sharing the honest and complete history of American slavery. Dr. Bryant Mitchell of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore and Emmett Dashiell, a descendant of enslaved workers at Long Hill, delivered remarks on behalf of the community of Wetipquin.
Another important aspect of the park will be educating the public about the Indigenous people who inhabited the land. DNR hosted representatives of the Pocomoke Indian Nation and the Nause-Waiwash Band of Indians, who continue to maintain a relationship with the lands, at Tuesday’s event. The Nause-Waiwash Band are descendants of two Nanticoke villages who encountered English explorer John Smith in the 1600s.
“Places like Wetipquin Creek State Park help us honor those that came before us and see more clearly who we are and where we have come from,” said Chichi Nyagah-Nash, deputy chief of staff to Gov. Wes Moore. “They remind us that the story of Maryland, and the story of America, is only complete when we tell the truth about the people who built this nation, sustained its communities, cared for its landscapes, and expanded our understanding of freedom and belonging. Wetipquin Creek State Park does this and today we’re making a promise to carry this legacy forward.”
The Maryland Park Service continues dedicating and celebrating several new properties around the state as part of its work to expand access to public lands. As the United States celebrates its 250th year of independence, many of these new parks and public lands tell important stories about Maryland’s history. Earlier in the year, the Maryland Park Service accepted the donation of two acres of land, including a historic African-American cemetery at the Revolutionary War-era Catoctin Furnace and added it to Cunningham Falls State Park, and celebrated the dedication of Freedman’s State Park in Montgomery County, which encompasses 1,000 acres of land once owned and farmed by a formerly enslaved family who were able to self-emancipate and whose descendants shaped the Civil Rights Movement in Maryland.