MD 276 was constructed along an old turnpike from Port Deposit through Woodlawn, then north to Rising Sun to the east of the present corridor.

MD 276 continues north a short distance to its northern terminus at US 1 (Rising Sun Bypass) opposite Slicers Mill Road.

[1][4] The highway was named for Jacob Tome, a lumber magnate, state senator, and philanthropist in Port Deposit in the 19th century.

[7] The connection between the turnpike and Rising Sun was east of modern MD 276 along Hopewell Road, which was paved as a macadam road from the turnpike intersection east of Woodlawn at Cathers Corner to Rising Sun by Cecil County with state aid by 1910.

[8] Wilson Avenue in Rising Sun and the highway adjacent to the town were reconstructed as a concrete road to eliminate a steep grade in 1926.

The agreement transferred Hopewell Road from Cathers Corner to the town limit of Rising Sun from state to county maintenance in exchange for Kelly Road from Woodlawn north to the Rising Sun Bypass being transferred from the county to the state.

[13] Wilson Avenue in Rising Sun remained in the state highway system, as MD 811, until it was transferred to the town by a January 5, 1979, agreement.