Southern Maryland:
Where Time and Tide Meet

Southern Maryland is the state's best-kept secret. The peninsula that lies south of Annapolis and Washington is far removed from the hustle of government and commerce.

Bordered by the Chesapeake Bay and Potomac River, this is a place where the tide and seasons run life. Roads skirt the shoreline, linking small towns that are home ports to generations of watermen. Look in one direction, and catch a glimpse of the Bay. On the other side of the road is a manor house that's older than America.

The first Europeans to arrive landed on St. Clement's Island in March of 1634. About 200 passengers left England the previous November on a boat that was about the combined size of four motor homes.

The founding family - the Calverts - were Catholics who wanted a place in the New World where their beliefs would be respected. St. Mary's City was the capitol of the fledgling colony with a courthouse, church, tavern, several houses, and a dock.

When the Protestants took over in the late 1600s, they moved the capital to Annapolis. St. Mary's City was abandoned and vanished from maps for nearly two centuries. Today, Historic St. Mary's City is an open-air, living history recreation of life as it was in those early decades. Costumed interpreters play the roles of actual and 'composite' residents of the colony. Visitors witness early court cases in the reconstructed State House of 1676, learn why the printer had to watch his 'p's and q's,' and watch the ongoing archeological dig at the site of St. Mary's Church.

More living history is found at Point Lookout State Park. Located at the tip of the peninsula, it's known for great fishing and fantastic views. During the Civil War, however, its reputation was much darker. This was the site of a notorious Union prisoner-of-war camp. Thousands of Confederate soldiers were housed in primitive conditions without adequate shelter, food, or medicine.

The camp records survived the war, and the park rangers work with local re-enactors to create a living history program. The stockade and some of the buildings from the camp era are restored, and the visitors see what life was like for Johnny Reb and Billy Yank. On dark, October nights, rangers tell stories about the 'otherworldly' happenings at the park and host special ghost walks.

Piney Point was the Palm Beach of its time. At the turn of the century, presidents, celebrities, and the merely rich escaped the heat and humidity of Washington's summers by sailing down the Potomac and docking here.

But tastes change. Piney Point lost its luster, and the hotel burned down, leaving behind little more than memories and the Piney Point lighthouse. The lighthouse is undergoing restoration on its scenic, usually breezy, spot on the river. The museum is a folksy place featuring the local stories about the lighthouse keepers and the lighthouse itself. Do be warned, though; the turnaround is tight for big rigs.

Visitors who step onto the veranda at Sotterley Plantation often find it hard to leave. The nearly three hundred year old Tidewater plantation house commands a sweeping view of the Patuxent River. It was recently named a National Historic Landmark, something that Carol Wilson of the Sotterley Foundation finds particularly appropriate.

"The story of Sotterley parallels the story of the country. It encompasses the Revolution and the Civil War and the economic ups and downs of those eras. A governor lived here, and tenant farmers lived here. The house contains three centuries of histories and stories and buildings and collections."

In addition to the manor house, the slave quarters, smoke house, 'necessary,' corn crib, and other original buildings remain. The restored garden is especially nice. The third weekend of May, Sotterley holds a major quilt exhibition, with hand-made quilts displayed in many of the outbuildings as well as the manor house and that wonderful veranda.

The 'other' inhabitants of Maryland's Tidewater are featured at the Calvert Marine Museum in Solomons, on the Patuxent River. The Museum concentrates on life in, on, and around the Chesapeake and Patuxent.

It starts with the pre-historic residents, including a life-size reconstruction of the skeleton of a giant shark that once patrolled the Bay. It's roughly the size of a Winnebago. The other aquarium present the more familiar fish and Bay creatures - seahorses, jellyfish, and - of course - blue crabs.

Easily the most popular residents are Bubble and Squeak, two river otters who spend most of their time in an outdoor playground, swimming, diving, sunning, and eating. Their home is designed so visitors can view the otters underwater as well as above ground. They delight in showing off and posing for photographs.

Screwpile lighthouses are almost unique to the Chesapeake. These eight-sided, cottage-style buildings were literally 'screwed' into the bottom of the Bay. Engineers thought the design would make the lighthouses more stable and better able to resist currents and tides.

The idea worked on paper, but not on the Bay. The screwpiles were terribly vulnerable, often breaking loose from their moorings during bad weather. After one storm, one lighthouse was found drifting eleven miles away from its home.

The Drum Point Lighthouse is one of only three remaining screwpile lights on the Bay. Moved from its duty station, it's now at the Museum, restored to its original appearance and is furnished as it was when it was active.

No trip to the Museum is complete without a cruise aboard the Wm. B. Tennison. She's a Chesapeake bugeye, and the oldest passenger-carrying vessel on the Bay, over 100 years old. During the hour-long cruise, passengers hear tales about the history of the area, and spot osprey, heron, and the occasional eagle flying overhead.

A stroll through the village of Solomons is a good post-tour adventure. The main street is only about two blocks long, but has enough gift shops and galleries for adequate browsing. While there is no dedicated RV parking, Solomons is a casual place. Parking on the street is acceptable for larger vehicles, while smaller ones can usually angle in or take up extra spaces in the free municipal parking lot along the water.

Lunch on the Bay must include fresh seafood. Fist-sized crab cakes are the specialty at the casual Solomon's Pier Restaurant, which sits over the river. In good weather, the outdoor deck is a perfect spot. More upscale with a view of the harbor instead of the river is The Lighthouse Inn. Look for
rockfish on the menu. Also called the striped bass, it's a Chesapeake delicacy.

Solomons' latest cultural addition is Annmarie Gardens. The world-class, outdoor sculpture garden on 30 acres along St. John Creek continues to evolve with a new work added every year. The works range from a realistic oysterman 'tonging' for his catch to a whimsical school of fish 'swimming' through the loblolly pines. Artsfest, held every September, features artists demonstrating their crafts and ongoing artistic performances staged in the open air.

Long before the Europeans showed up, Native Americans lived, fished, and farmed here, and traded with their neighbors throughout the region. The Maryland Indian Cultural Center in Waldorf teaches about the 500 nations that existed in North America when the Europeans arrived. Sit inside a longhouse and experience the arts, beliefs, and ways of living of the different tribes. Pow-Wows held during the year attract native dancers, singers and craftspeople from as far away as Mexico.

It's safe to say that George Washington slept here - somewhere - in Southern Maryland. Mount Vernon is just across the river, and Washington had many friends in the area.

Two of the houses he visited are open for tours. Smallwood's Retreat is the home of General William Smallwood, one of Washington's generals. Thomas Stone, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, lived at Habre de Venture, which is now a National Historic Site. The reconstructed plantation house offers free tours every hour.

The last landmark is on the decidedly un-scenic Route 301 in Waldorf. It's Walls' Bakery. Yes, it does look like a cement teepee, and it's also called Walls' Wigwam. It's been a gambling hall and a honkey-tonk nightclub, but now it is a family-run bakery with eclairs the size of soccer balls, wonderful fresh breads, streudel, and other delights. It's a final sweet taste of your visit to Southern Maryland.
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