1935 Maryland Realty Investment Map of Cobb Island

A one-of-a-kind c. 1935 real estate map of Cobb Island, Maryland, prepared by Maryland Realty Investment Trust, promoting real estate investment and settlement on the island.

A Closer Look

Oriented towards the northeast to present the island horizontally, this map displays Cobb Island divided into six lettered areas with plot lines traced. Areas C and D include the already-developed parts of the island, while the remaining parts mostly display uniform, undeveloped, numbered plots. The 'state bridge' connecting the island to the mainland opened in 1932, a significant improvement over an earlier one-lane wooden structure. The large estate to the east of the bridge belongs to 'Arthur S. Whitcomb,' perhaps the man of the same name who was a renowned cornet player with the United States Marine Band. Promotional text and images appear on the recto and verso, touting the island's natural beauty and maritime recreation activities.

'Washington's Popular Summer Resort'

One and a half miles from end to end, Cobb Island juts out from Charles County, Maryland, into the Potomac River near its widest point, roughly halfway between the Washington, D.C. area and the Chesapeake Bay. Having been developed as farmland, the island was mostly known in the early 20th century for being the site of an important milestone in the development of radio technology, when inventor Reginald Fessenden transmitted intelligible human speech between two masts on the island spaced one mile apart.

However, the island was only developed for residential use in the early 1920s, when Maryland political operator Robert Crain created the Cobb Island Development Company and aimed to make it a summer getaway from steamy Washington, D.C. The company laid out roads, built the aforementioned wooden bridge, and managed to attract seasonal residents from the nation's capital. A community developed, including some year-round residents, and the completion of the improved bridge in 1932 and connection with the electrical grid in 1939 made life on the island more comfortable. In the late 1920s or early 1930s, the Maryland Realty Investment Trust took over the island's real estate from the Cobb Island Development Company (perhaps because Crain died in 1928 or perhaps due to the Great Depression).

Publication History and Census

This map was prepared as a promotional piece for the Maryland Realty Investment Trust. It is undated, but on the verso, refers to the new state bridge, constructed in 1932, as having opened 'a few years ago,' suggesting a date of 1935. We are unaware of any other examples of this map in institutional collections or on the market. It appears to be a unique survival.