Stepping Back in Time

Lives of the watermen change

slowly on these Chesapeake islands

Marshy Smith Island archipelago rises above the close chop of the Chesapeake Bay eight miles west of Crisfield, Maryland. Weathered clapboard houses and meadows of spartina grass line winding roads linking communities of fiercely independent watermen who cling to the values of their 18th century forbears. Eleven miles to the south, Tangier Island harbors a trio of communities equally determined to preserve a way of life that harks back 12 generations. These other-worldly places make fascinating destinations where history lives, wildlife abounds, boats are cars, and small ferries serve as delivery trucks, ambulances, school buses, and commuter trains. Three towns, Ewell, Rhodes Point and Tylerton, occupy the only high ground amid flowing acres of salt marsh. “Soft crabs” are the primary business—the men are mostly watermen and the women crab pickers or retailers.
Visiting boats are welcome. Smith Island Marina’s six transient slips edge the bulkhead on the approach to Ewell, the largest of the three villages. A small, white dockhouse hosts a lovely wood-paneled boaters’ lounge and next door, bright and spacious Bayside Inn serves lunch in its dining room or screened porch overlooking the docks. Across the road, down-home, rustic Rukes General Store has a screened crab deck. Its transient slips open up after the tour boat leaves at 2 p.m. Transportation around the island is by foot, bicycle, golf cart, or kayak.
Barely a block inland at the strikingly handsome Smith Island Cultural Center, inviting rockers furnish the wraparound porch. Resident artist Reuben Becker’s vibrant 30-foot mural dominates one wall and exquisitely restored classic workboats fill the airy space. During summer, a film and exhibits explain the history and lifestyles of the Island. During the winter, the Center becomes the islanders’ Social Hall, although the village’s true core is Ewell United Methodist Church

Discovered by Capt. John Smith, the island was settled in the early 1700s. Today, many of the 300 residents trace their ancestry to those early pioneers and still speak with a hint of their original Cornish dialect—albeit one muted by the effects of satellite TV and tourists.
Excursion boats and ferries deliver about 5,000 visitors to Smith Island each summer for a midday tour. These hours are well spent paddling the tidal creeks that meander through the Martin National Wildlife Refuge. Exhibits highlighting the flora and fauna are located at Middleton House, and rental kayaks are available at the marina.
The smallest, sweetest and most remote of the Smith Island villages is Tylerton. Its own island, it’s accessible only by water. Tourists are rare so Tylerton provides a truer sense of why its 60 residents cherish this insular, self-sufficient lifestyle. Approaching the free, self-service 200-foot Town Dock, to port is author Tom Horton’s maroon-shuttered brick house where he wrote the acclaimed An Island Out of Time,  a paean to the watermen and their determined, inventive families.
Starboard of the dock, flags fly from the Inn of Silent Music, a beautifully appointed, white clapboard farmhouse with powder blue shutters. The innkeeper serves a delicious four-course seafood dinner on the sunset porch.  Walk Tylerton’s casual lanes, peek into the peeler sheds and stop at Drum Point Market for famous 12-layer Smith Island Cake. Visit the Crabmeat Cooperative, built by a resourceful group of women looking for a way to stay on the Island. Watch them through one of the large windows—they are lightning fast.
Eleven miles south, Tangier, the spiffiest of the Islands, is actually three fingers of solid upland—Main Ridge, Canton and West Ridge—surrounded by a three-and-a-half mile marsh crossed by narrow tidal creeks. Watermen’s shanties flank the main channel. Inside these little stilt houses, islanders sort the day’s catch into shedding pens that hold the “busters” ready to molt into prized soft crabs. On the channel’s south shore, the long boardwalk of Park’s Marina hosts 32 slips. A gracious, informative octogenarian, Milton Parks tools around on his shiny white motor scooter tending his cats and his marina.
The waning crabbing industry is the primary support for the 600 members of this tightly knit community. To help, many of the women have embraced tourism with gusto. It’s “red alert” when the excursion boats arrive, creating a bit of a carnival atmosphere as golf cart tour leaders and local restaurateurs jockey for the attention of the ferry passengers. One of the joys of arriving by private vessel is the opportunity to experience the real Tangier before the ferries arrive and after the tourists leave.
You could begin at the Tangier History Museum. Exhibits interpret the island’s history and describe its unique, hand-made workboats—the barcat version of a deadrise. At the museum dock complimentary kayaks and canoes wait for visitors to paddle the five marked water trails. Well-maintained vintage houses and stacks of crab traps line three miles of roadways where 60 markers tell the Tangier story. Join the ferry throngs on one of the golf cart tours or hire a private guide. She will likely speak with a remnant of an English West Country accent and give you the real skinny on life in these remote islands. You can even arrange a visit to a waterman at both his crab shanty and his workboat to see the whole soft shell crab process in action. Just remember to bring your insect repellent, alcoholic beverages and cash—Tangier Island is dry and credit-card free.