Shore History to hold event discussing when Onancock was farmland

Shore History invites the public to an Opening Reception on March 20 at 6:00 p.m. celebrating the debut of its newest exhibit, Mapping the Past: The Ker Place Plantation and Onancock Towne. The evening will feature the unveiling of a striking 4-foot by 6-foot interpretive mural created by researcher and museum exhibit developer Miriam Riggs.

Step into the vivid landscape of 18th- and 19th-century “Onancock Towne.” Mapping the Past explores how the Ker Place Plantation and the surrounding town evolved along the Chesapeake Bay estuary, where commerce and community were shaped during the Early Republic. Through careful research and compelling visual storytelling, the exhibit reveals how geography, enterprise, and family networks influenced the development of this historic Eastern Shore community.

Riggs has dedicated more than 15 years to researching and interpreting Eastern Shore history. Since 2009, she has made regional history accessible to the public through exhibit design at the Barrier Islands Center Museum. She also contributed extensive research to inform The Almshouse documentary film and performed long-term interior restoration work at a local historic landmark home.

This current research project and mural draw from primary documents in state and county records, building upon the foundational work of respected local historians to present a layered and dynamic view of Onancock’s past.

Riggs will further explore her findings in a lecture and slideshow at the Market Street Methodist Church Social Hall on Saturday, March 21 at 5:30 p.m. discussing the Ker family, plantation operations, and the transformation of Onancock’s landscape in post-Revolutionary Virginia.

“My vision for the Orientation panel at Ker Place is to help visitors grasp the true scale of the plantation when it was built between 1799 and 1804, and to better understand what daily life looked like — both on the plantation and in the town that grew alongside it. For those unfamiliar with the area, it can be difficult to imagine how expansive and interconnected this place once was. This panel will help bring that world into focus,” said Hilary Hartnett-Wilson, Executive Director of Shore History. 

The community is warmly invited to attend and experience this immersive look into the region’s early history.