[Jerryparson]

Today's Chesapeake Bay is a product of its history. While it has changed greatly as a result of human and natural forces, it remains a place of extraordinary ecological, cultural, economic, historic, and recreational value. The Chesapeake Bay continues to be one of the nation's most economically important maritime corridors. Each year, ports on the Bay handle 10,000 ocean-going vessels carrying 200 billion pounds (90 million metric tons) of cargo. Some 17,000 men and women working on Bay waters catch and process one-quarter of all oysters and one-half of all clams consumed in America. Although annual harvests are only a fraction of their historic levels, the yearly haul of blue crabs is the largest in the world.

[Sabunir]

Humans have always manipulated the land to provide for their needs. Early Woodland Indians, for example, used fire to make their canoes and to clear forest areas for crops. But the arrival of European settlers beginning in the 17th century brought economic and environmental changes that transformed the Chesapeake Bay for all time. [links]

[lancommy101]

The pace of development quickened through the 19th century. Commodities and immigrants flowed into Chesapeake Bay cities, particularly the deepwater ports of Baltimore and Norfolk. Foreign trade and the manufacture of oceangoing vessels linked the Chesapeake Bay to worldwide ports. Markets for Chesapeake Bay goods grew, and entrepreneurs rushed to improve transportation, communication, and production to meet foreign and domestic demands.

[bretthomas8]

By 1700, beavers had virtually disappeared from the Chesapeake watershed. (Today's beaver are descended from those re-introduced to the area in the 20th century.) Indians continued to trade in deer skin and other furs. However, as colonial settlements took over their lands and reduced the forest habitat of many species, the fur trade declined in the Chesapeake and moved farther north and west. more

[The Doctor]

The issue of slavery in the United States was especially divisive. For many years leading up to the war, the Chesapeake Bay was a vital part of the Underground Railroad. This was not an actual railroad but a series of routes and hiding places that led from slave states to free states and Canada. here

[virtualcoin]

Located between two increasingly diverse sections of the country, the Chesapeake Bay became a microcosm of a divided nation in the years leading up to America's Civil War. The differences between the primarily industrial North and the agrarian South led to political tensions particularly hard felt in the Chesapeake region. Conflicting opinions divided states, communities, and even families. here

[annedubois]

Michener, J. Chesapeake. Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2003. (especially chapters: Voyage One and Two, The Slave Breaker, and The Watermen) [links]

[ribuck]

WETLANDS:Often the streams and rivers in the watershed flow through marshlands or wetlands. These areas are extremely important to the life cycles of Chesapeake Bay plants and animals. Wetlands play a critical role in helping to filter excess nutrients and pollutants before they reach the Bay. In addition, they provide plenty of food and a great hiding place for young fish.

[carrier785]

Bell, D. & Wharton, J. Chesapeake Bay Walk Schiffer Publishing 1998.

[QuietDad]

Burgess, R. Chesapeake Sailing Craft: Recollections of Robert H Burgess. Cornell Maritime Press, 2005.

[EddBin]

WHAT IS AN ESTUARY? The Chesapeake Bay is the largest and most valuable estuary in the United States. An estuary is a semi-enclosed body of water where fresh water from rivers meets and mixes with salt water from the ocean creating brackish water. Estuaries are highly productive ecosystems. The Chesapeake Bay offers a variety of plants, animals, and sea life. During your shipboard experience, you will see Chesapeake Bay life firsthand and test the water’s dissolved oxygen content, pH, temperature and salinity. Visit the Chesapeake Bay Program for more information on estuaries.

[max-power]

Listed by Laura H Carney and Fred I Rider III of TTR Sotheby's International Realty here

[Chooseusername]

Martins Point Farm has been in the same family since the 1930's and offers 115 acres with 2.3 miles of shoreline! With origins dating to the 18th Century, this gorgeous farm is brimming with history, natural Chesapeake Bay splendor, and extraordinary opportunity for an Eastern Shore life well-lived. The long lane leads you past fields, pasture and historic barns up to the main residence, situated on a point with old shade trees, lovely gardens, and magnificent river views. With 360 degree vistas (including stunning sunrises and sunsets), this property is completely secluded and offers the utmost in privacy. The home's interior is casual yet elegant and boasts high ceilings, double porches, hardwood floors, doorways, and millwork all recalling eras gone by. The oldest part of the house dates back to the 1700's and includes the original kitchen with its wood ceiling and large hearth, a very useful mudroom, private office, and elegant dining room. Over the year additions were added including a large comfortable family room, formal entrance with staircase, and beautiful living room with fireplace, all with water views. The wonderful screened porch looks out the river and enjoys endless summer breezes. Upstairs are 4 well-appointed bedrooms with water views and 3 baths but the most coveted spot is the second floor screened porch; a perfect place to enjoy a good book or take in the tranquil setting. Adjacent to the main house are 2 treasured waterside cottages, one with 2 BR/2BA, the other with 2BR/1 BA. Absolutely ideal for family or guests. The pool and brick patio are convenient to all and again take in the endless water views. Steps away is the 60' pier with two slips tucked in the protected cove with 3.5'MLW . There is a 2 BR/1 BA caretakers home and also a 3 BR /1 BA waterside tenant house along with an adjoining pasture for sheep and horses. Several additional structures include an old large dairy barn with loft (used occasionally for parties), sheep barn, and other structures which can accommodate boats, farm equipment, potting supplies, and tools. This is one extraordinary offering seldom found on the Eastern Shore ! Please note: The main residence is rented throughout the summer on a short term basis so showing times are limited to Saturdays (12:00-4:00) and the tenant house is also leased. About 75 acres are tilled and 28 are in CREP including a wetland impoundment. There is also a hunting lease in place . For further information, please contact the listing agents. more

[Yort]

Listed by Jennifer S Chaney and Tricia Z Wilson of Chaney Homes, LLC [links]

[BlackEye]

MLS Number MDTA2000016 more

[cbrendanjarvisi]

MLS Number MDKE118120 [links]

[GhoulBalliz3x]

Barcat Skipper – Tales of a Tangier Fisherman
Harvesting the Chesapeake
Chesapeake Legacy – Tools & Traditions
Chesapeake Bay Buyboats
Deadrise & Cross Planked

[Suggester]

“The boats where used to haul freight and watermelons and to plant oysters all over the Bay……and in the winter they could be used to dredge crabs. The boats worked extensively in the fisheries and, more importantly, the captains and crews of these boats could work year-round.

[heroinrehab41]

In the first paragraph I mentioned my friend Larry Chowning. He has been my friend since 1965. Larry is the author of many books about the Chesapeake Bay:

[FreddyFender]

I am, among other things, a model builder. Many people in the area have asked me to build a specific Buyboat that they have a particular interest in, as apposed to a generic Buyboat. Wanting the model to be as accurate as I can make it, I looked for plans. There are none to speak of. I learned that the builders used rough sketches drawn on a work table or maybe the shop floor or just built them by eye. In all of my digging around since 2004 I have come across two simple line drawings. The only way to get good accurate drawings was to do it myself. Shouldn’t take too long, Right. Wrong!! Taking detail measurements of these 40 to 60 foot hulls and all their mast, booms, rigging, fittings, cabins, hardware, etc., ect., ect. takes many visits to the boat over a period of weeks with drawing and refining in between. I use the water as a datum line to measure the shear and some of the chine and every thing above the water is measured by hand. This gives me the size and angle to horizontal or plum of every thing above the water line. Then I have to wait, sometimes many months, until the boat is on the railway. Then it starts all over again to do everything from the waterline down. Every thing is true to size and scale. I can only manage one or two drawings a year. Over time the drawings took on a life of their own. People started showing interest and wanted to know where to get them. I also knew that the deck boats where disappearing fast. The “L.R. Smith” and the “Rebecca Ann” have both died since I drew them. When I was a boy in Urbanna, Virginia, which is still my home, there where hundreds of Buyboats on the Bay and its tributaries. I saw row after row of deadrise work boats on Urbanna Creek cribbed together after a days work and Buyboats so full of seed oysters that their gunnels where barely out of the water. All gone now. We are lucky to have a few still working and a few more being preserved by dedicated and proud owners who spend considerable money and time to keep these boats afloat and in good condition for us to remember and admire. These owners have been a great help to me with details and history. They have, without exception, welcomed and given me the run of their boats. I hope to continue with the project of documenting as many remaining Buyboats as time, health and burnout permit.

[prometheus]

This site is dedicated to line drawings of Chesapeake Bay deadrise deck boats. Many refer to them as “Buyboats”. This term came about as a result of one of the many jobs they where called upon to perform. Buying the catch from other boats on the rivers and Bay before they returned to the dock made for good business all around. The buy boats could beat the shore buyers to the catch and the work boats could unload and return home sooner without having to first go to a shore buyer’s location. This was only a small part of what these boats where used for but it has, for whatever reason, caught on as a generic name for these deadrise deck boats . My good and long time friend and author Larry Chowning explains better than I in the preface of his book, “Chesapeake Bay Buyboats”, the many jobs these versatile boats preformed.

[joechip]

From June to September, the Baltimore and Washington, D.C., watermelon trade carried many of the boats through the summer and into the fall and winter oyster harvest.” (Chowning, preface, page ix) here