Exploring Smith Island

In the middle of the Chesapeake Bay, Smith Island stands defiant. Its community remains strong and proud while all the other island towns in Maryland have faded away, their populations fleeing for the mainland.

Smith Island clings to a way of life that is centuries old: hard work on the water all week and then a day of rest to worship the Lord on Sunday. Many of its residents refuse to evacuate, even in the strongest of storms, even when county emergency officials beg them to go.

Visit once, and it won’t be enough. It’s not just the pull of the people, as solid and kind as you’ll find anywhere. It’s the distinct beauty of the place: the white clapboard homes, the serpentine belt of swaying marsh, the egrets standing in the road as though they understand no one’s coming.

Smith Island is eroding, losing more and more of its land each year to the encroaching sea. The people who live here make their living off the water, crabbing and oystering, but they also have seen nature turn on them during powerful storms. They appreciate the Bay, though they sometimes rue it. And when they leave for mainland jobs, as many do, they yearn to return.

Smith Island is actually three towns: Tylerton, Rhodes Point and Ewell. They were once connected, but Tylerton is on an island by itself now. It has about 70 residents. Its waterfront is dotted with crab shanties, where watermen rise before dawn to tend to soft crabs. The main institution is the church, a beautiful building in the center of town. Ewell is the main town, but remember, this is an island of about 270 people, not all of them full-time residents. Less than two miles away is Rhodes Point, a lovely village that fronts the sea.

Smith Island has several water trails around the various uninhabited islands, hummocks and marshes nearby.

Biking this island is a true pleasure. You can ride from Ewell to Rhodes Point and back for a vigorous, 5-mile pedal.

This is an abridged article originally published in the Bay Journal.