The Maryland Secretary of Commerce, Kelly Schulz, visited Dorchester County as part of her collaboration Tour on August 13th. The morning began at the Eastern Shore Innovation Center with locally elected officials and community leaders conversing in a roundtable discussion. Visions, challenges, and ideas for Dorchester were shared between the attendees.
Next, Schulz visited JM Claytons. She met with co-owner Jack Brooks and visited one of the company’s longest-term crab pickers, beginning his employment with the Cambridge company in 1947. The J. M. Clayton Company was the first crabmeat processing plant in Dorchester County and one of the first on the Chesapeake Bay to pick crabs and shed soft crabs.
After a delicious lunch on Cambridge Creek at Snappers, the tour ended with a walk to the Choptank River Lighthouse. It is an exact replica of the Choptank River Lighthouse, which guided ships on the Choptank River from 1871 until 1964.
To learn more about the Maryland Department of Commerce please visit commerce.maryland.gov.