Pemberton Historical Park is located about 2.5 miles west of US Business Route 50 in Salisbury, Maryland. (See Directions below.)

"PEMBERTON HALL" FAMILY CEMETERY is located on Colonel Isaac Handy's Plantation on the Wicomico River, (now designated Pemberton Drive - MD 301), the West side of Salisbury, Wicomico County, Maryland. Today, what is left of over a thousand acres of the original Plantation and the house "Pemberton Hall" is known as Pemberton Historical Park, just a short distance from Route 50. The Wicomico County Department of Recreation, Parks and Tourism created 260 acre Pemberton Historical Park in the 1980s to surround the Pemberton Hall Foundation, Inc. property which includes the house "Pemberton Hall". Pemberton Historical Park offers five miles of natural hiking trails where the beauty of nature can be appreciated and visitors can participate in environmental education, historical interpretation, and special event activities. This nature trail system, with a Naturalist on site, preserves three of the original 1750 boundaries of Col. Isaac Handy's "Pemberton Hall" Plantation. It exhibits every habitat present within the lower Eastern Shore except a salt marsh.

THE HISTORY OF "PEMBERTON HALL" PLANTATION includes two charter members of the Society of the Cincinnati, a Governor of Maryland, a Colonel in the Maryland Militia, and an ardent Confederate sympathizer. The association of these men to the house is coupled with Pemberton Hall's 18th century Maryland architectural design and construction features and details. The Pemberton Hall tract, first patented in 1679 to William Stevens, was conveyed to Thomas Pemberton four years later. In 1726, Joseph Pemberton sold the land to Col. Isaac Handy. The Handy and Pemberton families played significant roles in the affairs of the County. Isaac Handy (1706-1763), builder of "Pemberton Hall" in 1741, was a Justice of the Peace, a planter, and a Colonel in the Maryland Militia. He founded a shipping business as a result of servicing local planters through "Handy's Landing" (20th century Main Street Bridge in Salisbury). One of "builder" Col. Isaac Handy's five sons, George Handy (1756-1820), was a charter member of the Society of the Cincinnati, albeit he never owned the "Pemberton Hall". He served in the Maryland Line in the Fifth Regiment as well as Lee's Dragoons in the American Revolution. (According to tradition, Loyalists gathered at Pemberton Hall during the American Revolution.) After the "builder's" death the house became the property of George Handy's brother, Henry Handy. During the War Between the States, "Pemberton Hall" was the home of Allison Parsons, a southern sympathizer. Despite the Federal troops encamped in Salisbury, Parsons insisted on firing a cannon upon the receipt of news of each Confederate victory. After issuing several ultimatums to Parsons, the U. S. Army soldiers raided Pemberton Hall in order to silence the cannon; however, Parsons had buried it before their arrival. In addition to the cannon firing which provoked the raid, Parsons used "Pemberton Hall" as a rendezvous for Eastern Shore Confederate sympathizers. Frances Handy, a granddaughter of "builder" Col. Isaac Handy, eloped with Alexander Roxburg, a hero of the American Revolution (Major, Fourth Regiment, Maryland Line), charter member of the Society of the Cincinnati. William Handy (1802-1857), a descendant of Colonel Handy, and a Maryland State Legislator, became known for his support of free trade, state's rights, and John C. Calhoun's doctrine of nullification. In 1868, Elihu E. Jackson (1837-1907), Governor of Maryland from 1888-1892, with James Cannon, purchased "Pemberton Hall" at a trustee's sale, the building and land surrounding it being retained by Cannon. Cannon sold his interest in "Pemberton Hall" to Cadmus J. Taylor (1884) who willed the property to his son, James Ichabod Taylor. James Taylor's son, Rex A. Taylor, a Judge of the Wicomico County Circuit Court, and his brother, Seth Taylor, owned "Pemberton Hall" from 1931-1963, at which time the Pemberton Hall Foundation, Inc. was formed and took it over - it is a private, nonprofit organization governed by a Board of Directors.

"Pemberton Hall" was put on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971 and Maryland Historical Trust on 18 Feb 1971.

~ Description compiled by Meredith Drew Trawick a 7th great-granddaughter of Col. Isaac Handy.

DRIVING DIRECTIONS -

From the South (Princess Anne, Pocomoke, and Virginia points of origin):
Take Rt. 13 Business into Salisbury. At the Rt. 50 overpass downtown, turn left onto Rt. 50 Business westbound. Travel over the Mill Street bridge and turn left onto Nanticoke Road (Rt. 349) at the 7-11. Make an immediate left turn onto Pemberton Drive. Continue straight on Pemberton Drive for 2.5 miles. The Park is located on the left about ¼ off the road.

From the North (Delmar and Delaware points of origin):
Take Rt. 13 Business into Salisbury. At the Rt. 50 overpass downtown, turn right onto Rt. 50 Business westbound. Travel over the Mill Street bridge and turn left onto Nanticoke Road (Rt. 349) at the 7-11. Make an immediate left turn onto Pemberton Drive. Continue straight on Pemberton Drive for 2.5 miles. The Park is located on the left about ¼ off the road.

From the East (Berlin, Ocean City, and beaches):
Take Rt. 50 Business through Salisbury. Turn left onto Nanticoke Road (Rt. 349) at the 7-11 and make an immediate left turn onto Pemberton Drive. Continue straight on Pemberton Drive for 2.5 miles. The Park is located on the left about ¼ off the road.

From the West (Cambridge, Easton, and DC/Baltimore area):
Take Rt. 50 Business into Salisbury. Turn right onto Nanticoke Road (Rt. 349) at the 7-11 and make an immediate left turn onto Pemberton Drive. Continue straight on Pemberton Drive for 2.5 miles. The Park is located on the left about ¼ off the road.

Address:
5561 Plantation Lane
Salisbury, Maryland 21801

Phone: (410) 742-1741 or (410) 548-4900 ext.114