HISTORY OF THE TALBOT SCD

The proverb “all things come to those who wait” could not be more fitting when describing the long journey to establish the Talbot Soil Conservation District.

From late 1945 through early 1958, several attempts to form a Soil Conservation District in Talbot County fell short—largely due to limited interest from a majority of the agricultural community. The earliest effort began in 1945, when roughly 1,200 notice cards were distributed countywide to invite farmers to a series of District hearings. Despite that outreach, only 35 farmers attended across four separate meetings: St. Michaels Bay Hundred District (9 attendees), Cordova (15), Easton (4), and Trappe (7). While those who did attend generally favored forming a district, participation was not strong enough to sustain momentum. The County Extension Agricultural Agent, tasked with organizing the hearings, was unable to build the broad support needed, and enthusiasm faded.

Over the following years, continued encouragement—especially from T.B. Symons, Dean and Director of the University of Maryland—kept the idea alive. Dr. Symons received multiple calls from Talbot County farmers who were seeking surface drainage help from neighboring counties, a clear sign that local landowners were facing ongoing challenges. Letters exchanged between Dr. Symons and Rudolph Brown, the County Agricultural Agent at the time, also show how determined state leadership was to establish the final Soil Conservation District in Maryland—and how much they wanted Talbot County to complete that statewide effort.

Surface drainage was the dominant concern for many farmers during this period. In his editorials, Mr. Brown noted that the “Extension Service Drainage Engineer” had handled every drainage-related request coming through his office for years. He also suggested that because drainage was the principal issue, many farmers may have viewed a Soil Conservation District as unnecessary—comparing it to earlier local approaches such as the Tax Ditch system. Mr. Brown was not personally supportive of forming the District and was known as a vocal critic of the effort, which likely influenced the county’s pace in building consensus.

A turning point came after Mr. Rudolph Brown left the Extension Service around 1955. The new agent, Roscoe Brown (no relation), appeared far more willing to invest the time and energy needed to organize outreach and encourage farmer participation. With renewed leadership and persistence, the final effort succeeded. On April 15, 1958, a countywide vote was held, and the formation of the Talbot Soil Conservation District was approved—184 in favor and 107 opposed.

With that vote, Talbot became the 24th and final Soil Conservation District established in the State of Maryland, completing the statewide network designed to support farmers and protect natural resources through locally led conservation.

On April 15, 2026, Talbot SCD will proudly celebrated 68 years of service—continuing our mission of providing technical assistance, conservation planning, and resource support to Talbot County’s agricultural landowners and farmers.