Talisman Farm is 840 acres in Queen Anne’s County on Eastern Bay (a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay) on Maryland’s Eastern Shore and is no more than 25 minutes from Annapolis and an hour from BWI airport.
The property is situated just across and south of the Bay Bridge. Six hundred and twenty acres are on the Bay with a beautiful view and approximately two miles of shore-line. The other 220 acres are wooded and across Talisman Road from the main farm. There are eight houses on the property including a manor house. Three hundred and fifty acres are currently planted in corn and soybeans.
Approximately 360 acres of the farm are in the typical corn, wheat, soybean rotation found on farms in this region. The remainder is forested with some tidal wetlands.
Before European settlement, this area was almost entirely wooded. Several tribes of Native Americans lived in this region including the Ozinies and Mattapeakes. The first European settlement within the boundaries of present day Maryland occurred just across Eastern Bay on Kent Island in 1631, predating Maryland’s “founding settlement” in St. Mary’s County by three years.
By the early 19th century, most of what is known today as Talisman Farm was owned by William Bryan, a veteran of the Revolutionary War. This land stayed in the Bryan family until the 1930’s when it was purchased, along with two adjacent farms, by Arthur Kudner.
Mr. Kudner was one of the most important icons of Madison Avenue advertising. He was a pioneer in television advertising and advertising during sports events. Mr. Kudner enjoyed flying down from New York City to host friends including Averell Harriman and heavy weight champion Gene Tunney at Talisman.
Over the years, tobacco production was replaced by a variety of crops on the Eastern Shore. These crops included some of the first wheat produced in the United States in the 18th century, and peach and other fruit crops in the 19th and early 20th century. By the 1940’s, dairy production was an increasingly important part of the farm landscape in the region
A farm map of Talisman from 1940 shows a diverse farm with fields dedicated to clover, barley, alfalfa, and corn. This farm system was much more wildlife and Bay friendly than the modern agricultural production of corn, wheat and soybeans. Furthermore it predates the explosion of use of synthetic fertilizers which has had such a detrimental impact to the health of the Chesapeake Bay.
Today, the Chesapeake EcoFinance Company is working to place Talisman Farm’s agriculture production back into better harmony with the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem. By restoring wetlands and planting buffers, we can reduce the negative impacts this farm has on wildlife and water quality.
