Almost a fourth of Kent's residents live in Chestertown, including 1,200 students at Washington College, the liberal arts campus that was founded partly with a donation from its namesake, who traveled through town on official business.
These days, Kent is the only county in Maryland with just one high school - a building that opened in 1972 to handle 1,300 students. Today, there are fewer than 800 attending classes there.
Kent officials and residents have worked hard to keep growth in check. They have relied on comprehensive planning, strict zoning and a network of local, state and private land preservation funds that pay farmers to give up their development rights.
With nearly 40,000 acres set aside in a variety of easement programs, there is a waiting list of 25 farmers and landowners who want to sign up for the largest fund, the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation.
"It's always been there, that sense of preservation," said John Hall, a county extension agent. "It's also fortunate that there are a lot of wealthy landowners here. That's why you don't often see farms change hands."
County zoning rules limit construction on land for zoned for agriculture to one house per 20 acres or one house per 30 acres. All together, 152,096 of the county's 179,840 acres are zoned for agriculture.
"Kent County is usually the one we hold up as an example," said Dru Schmidt-Perkins, who heads the anti-sprawl group 1,000 Friends of Maryland. "The people have a clear vision. They've fought Wal-Mart, a new bay bridge. ... Kent County shows how things can be done."
Marion Fry and her husband, Edwin R. Fry, own a 580-acre dairy farm called Fairhill Farm. It sits on a hilltop outside Chestertown, with spectacular views across some of the only rolling farmland on the Shore.
The family, including her son, Matthew, 22, a recent graduate of Virginia Tech, rents 1,300 acres. The family also operates the former U.S. Naval Academy farm in Gambrills, a certified organic dairy.
"There's a wonderful sense of community here," says Marion Fry, who is on the board of the Kent County Farm Bureau. "It's a beautiful, gracious place to live."
"It was always remote, but you can't say that anymore - not with the development pressure on the entire East Coast," she adds. "This is a place where you can still live life on a human scale."
