Photography By Scott Suchman
There’s just one two-lane road that leads onto Solomons Island, Md. It’s lined with a smattering of shops and restaurants on one side and a boardwalk along the Patuxent River on the other. A couple of blinks and a bend in the road is about all it takes to cover this skinny, thirty-eight-acre island, where the boats docked at marinas seem to outnumber people.
At first glance--and especially through a car window--Solomons Island looks like a sleepy little gem on the water where not much happens and things rarely change. But a deeper look at this tiny Calvert County hamlet reveals just the opposite: a dynamic community that thrives on change.
Time has morphed this once-rustic commercial fishing village into an increasingly upscale yachting community--the latest of many turnarounds borne out of necessity. “People had to change to make a living,” says lifelong resident Jim Langley. “First through oysters and boat building. Then the Navy came in, and people worked there. When they left and the oyster houses shut down, recreational boating and water-borne entertainment started...You think it’s completely dead, and then something new comes along.” Langley, fifty-seven, is the curator of exhibits at the Calvert Marine Museum in Solomons, part of the same community, which begins near the northern end of the Riverwalk and has grown to include the rapidly expanding area on either side of the divided highway (Md. Route 2/4) north of the island. (The only thing separating Solomons Island from Solomons is a twenty-five-foot bridge over the Patuxent and separate business associations.) After working at the museum for twenty-two years, he says he enjoys his job because “things are constantly changing.” Just like the place he calls home.
Solomons sits halfway between Baltimore and Norfolk in one of the nation’s deepest natural harbors, nearly surrounded by Back Creek and the Patuxent River where it enters the Chesapeake. “It’s the crossroads of the Chesapeake Bay,” says Skip Zahniser, Solomons native and owner of the expansive Zahniser’s Yachting Center. “It’s hard to get through without stopping here.”
A dozen marinas keep pace with boaters who converge from every direction to absorb the tranquility of this community. It’s a place where the shoulders ease, the stomach settles, and the ears trade ringing cell phones for the clanking of metal stays against masts. It’s not so much the physical look of the place--although the narrow streets and modest cottages are rarely more than a block from panoramic water views--it’s more the laid-back feel of the island.
Setting the feel-good mood is the legendary Tiki Bar, a touch of Margaritaville that attracts thousands to its annual opening each April. But the real soul of Solomons Island--rooted in maritime history--takes time to discover.
In 1865, Isaac Solomon built the area’s first oyster cannery and gave the scenic spit of land his name. “It was feast time for people here,” says Cindy Wolfe of Southern Maryland Tours, which runs local architectural and historic tours. Although Solomon quickly went bankrupt, the oyster industry--and the boat building to support it--had firmly taken hold. By 1885, M. M. Davis Shipyard opened and Solomons soon reigned as the world’s bugeye capital, building more oyster-industry workhorses than any other bay community. About the same time, Joseph C. Lore launched a sizable seafood-packing company, which sent crabs, fish, and oysters as far away as Chicago.
This era of Solomons’ history comes to life inside the Calvert Marine Museum through black-and-white photos, model boats, and actual tools of the oyster trade. Outside, the museum’s small-craft center houses more than a dozen Chesapeake Bay workboats. Visitors can enjoy seasonal Patuxent River cruises on the museum’s floating exhibit, an 1899 bugeye, the Wm. B. Tennison, or tour the Drum Point Lighthouse (moved two miles to the museum grounds in 1975). The first-rate museum also covers the area’s World War II years, when the Navy converted part of Solomons Island into the nation’s first amphibious training base, preparing nearly 70,000 soldiers for water-and-land combat. The town still hosts an annual “Cradle of Invasion” commemoration every August.
With the military boom years long gone and the oyster industry fading fast, Solomons Island fell on hard times by the 1960s and remained surprisingly isolated. But that changed dramatically in 1977, when the 7,207-foot Governor Thomas Johnson Bridge linked southern Calvert County to St. Marys County over the Patuxent.
It was a “turning point,” says Robert “Bobby” Swann, a former Calvert County commissioner and president of the Solomons Civic Association. “It made a big difference in the area--it opened it up.”
“It was culture shock,” recalls an animated Langley. “It was like, BOOM, we were suddenly right in the twentieth century. Instead of driving to Annapolis for movies or fast food, everything was within five miles. It’s been beneficial to us. We can’t hide forever down here.”
The bridge put Solomons Island back in the middle of things. Newcomers discovered the charm and serenity of the place and slowly started replacing old homes and vacant tracts with new real estate. Development, especially north of the island, has increased exponentially in the last dozen years, paralleling the growth of the Patuxent River Naval Air Station across the bridge. “The bad thing is my kids cannot afford to live here,” laments Langley. “They’ve been pushed out. Waterfront land is worth $250,000 for a quarter-acre--with nothing on it.”
Interestingly, when townspeople refer to the “Solomons Island Bridge,” most visitors assume they’re talking about the dramatic span over the Patuxent, but the real “bridge” is the scant twenty-five-foot crossing and tidal box near the Watermen’s Memorial. Turns out, even the physical landscape of Solomons Island changed dramatically over the years. At one time, 550 feet separated the L-shaped island from the mainland, but millions of discarded oyster shells nearly filled in the gap. Today, the steepled sea-foam-green-and-white church signals the end of the mainland (historically called Avondale), and the J.C. Lore & Sons Oyster House indicates the island’s northern edge; both are built atop oyster shells.
The Oyster House (circa 1934) was the third built by the Lore family, which kept its seafood-packing business alive for nearly ninety years. “It was hard work, a lot of physical work” says seventy-two-year-old Alton Kersey, employed there from 1956 until it closed in 1978. He says he did “anything that had to be done...working on boats, taking the truck to town, processing the oysters, packing them--anything.” Today, the entire building and its contents are preserved as a museum and recognized as a National Historic Landmark. Harvesting gear, shucking tools, canning materials, and other artifacts interspersed with interpretive panels and vintage photos detail the history of the region’s commercial seafood industries.
Kersey, who’s referred to as the “unofficial mayor of Solomons,” recommends a stroll on the sixteen-foot-wide Riverwalk boardwalk, for unmatched views of the Patuxent and snippets of history from plaques dotting the walkway. “People can read these and take a nice walk and go back home a little bit smarter,” says Kersey, who worked to get the Riverwalk lit and a gazebo-shaped pavilion and town clock installed.
Across the street, the Harmon House Shops carry everything from T-shirts and magnets to wind chimes and nautical gifts. Carmen’s Gallery teems with vibrantly colored oil paintings, watercolors, and lithographs, plus a smattering of pottery. At Kim’s Key Lime Pies and Coffee Shop, owner Kim Mowrer says homesick Florida boaters inspired her to start making the tangy treats eight years ago--and the pies, made from juice from real key limes, still outsell other desserts year-round.
There’s no better place to check in for the night than the eight-room Solomons Victorian Inn, a minute’s walk away. Helen and Richard Bauer have run this romantic, year-round B&B with spectacular views of Solomons Harbor for nearly ten years. All rooms have private baths, and many have whirlpool tubs. Just north of the island is a trio of other bed and breakfasts near the water: The Back Creek Inn offers rooms, suites, and a cottage, plus two boat slips, and the owners operate a sister inn called Webster House. Sedwick House, located a block from both Solomons Harbor and the riverfront, has two finely appointed rooms. And there are plenty of waterside restaurant choices too: the Lighthouse Inn, with more surf than turf; the Italian-themed DiGiovanni’s Dock of the Bay; Stoney’s Kingfishers Seafood House, a new outlet of the famed Broome’s Island restaurant; and the Dry Dock Restaurant, with food that matches the stunning views across Zahniser’s Yachting Center.
From a seat in his restaurant, overlooking a medley of masts and a melange of boats that have traveled from the Virgin Islands, Boston, New York, and other far-flung locales, Skip Zahniser sums up his hometown: “Sometimes locals resist change, but in this case, the local community has embraced the situation. We know we have a charming spot.”
Karen-Lee Ryan writes from her home in Washington, D.C.
Locals’ Guide to Solomons
Favorite lunch spot
“If you don’t get there by 11:30 a.m., you can’t get a seat,” says Alton Kersey about CD Cafe, which residents universally recommend. The innovative menu ranges from roasted vegetable sandwiches to Mediterranean pasta, plus freshly made desserts like peppermint patty cheesecake. Owners Catherine File and Debbie Woody consistently fill their dozen tables at dinner, too. 14350 Solomons Island Rd. 410-326-3877.
Best place for a sunset cocktail
The front deck of Solomons Pier Restaurant, where panoramic views across the mouth of the Patuxent include the sun dropping behind the Thomas Johnson Bridge. 14575 Solomons Island Rd. 410-326-2424.
Most memorable bathrooms
Annmarie Garden on St. John’s Creek, a developing sculpture and botanic garden on the outskirts of town, used donated tiles of any size, style, color, and shape to create the most artistic restrooms anywhere on the Chesapeake Bay. 13480 Dowell Rd. 410-326-4640 or http://www.annmariegarden.org.
Oldest home on the island
Solomons House, a white gabled colonial, dates to 1780 and today houses the visitors’ center of the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, a marine research facility with 156 employees and nearly two dozen buildings at the southern tip of the island. 1 Williams St. 410-326-4281.
Traveling Guide for Boaters
I Love the Nightlife: Harbor Island Marina, the only marina actually on Solomons Island, rocks out with live music every weekend at its Harbor Sounds nightclub. 105 Charles St. 410-326-3441 or http://www.harborislandmarina.biz.
I’ll Do It Myself: Harbor Island serves the frugal boater with a “do-it-yourself” by-the-hour, repair boatyard. 105 Charles St. 410-326-3441 or http://www.harborislandmarina.biz.
Tennis, Anyone? If rigging sails isn’t enough exercise for you, hit a few aces at the courts over at the Calvert Marina. 14485 Dowell St. 410-326-4251.
Log On: For those who can’t bear another day without Googling or Yahooing, the updated facilities at Solomons’ newest marina, Solomons Yachting Center, include Internet access. 255 Alexander Ln. 410-326-2401 or http://www.solomonsyachtingcenter.com.
Splash Down: The little ones will love diving into Spring Cove Marina’s heated swimming pool--as well as it’s new playground. 455 Lore St. 410-326-2161 or http://www.springcovemarina.com.
Bay Babes: Zahniser’s Yachting Center, the forty-year-old granddaddy of the local marinas, is one of the few with deep-water slips (fifteen feet). It’s also looking deep into the future of the Bay with its “Oyster Gardening” program (which benefits the Chesapeake Bay Foundation), where kids can “adopt” a baby oyster, name it, and even visit the spat in the nursery before its release onto a reef. 245 C St. 410-326-2166 or http://www.zahnisers.com. --Kathy H. Ely
Resources
Back Creek Inn Bed & Breakfast
Alexander & Calvert Streets
410-326-2022
Calvert Marine Museum
14200 Solomons Island Rd.
410-326-2042
http://www.calvertmarinemuseum.com
Carmen’s Gallery
14550 Solomons Island Rd.
410-326-2549
http://www.carmensgallery.com
DiGiovanni’s Dock of the Bay
14556 Solomons Island Rd.
410-394-6400
http://www.digiovannisrestaurant.com
Dry Dock Restaurant
251 C St.
410-326-4817
http://www.zahnisers.com
Harmon House Shops
14538 Solomons Island Rd. South
410-326-6848
J.C. Lore & Sons Oyster House
14200 Solomons Island Rd.
410-326-2042
http://www.calvertmarinemuseum.com
Kim’s Key Lime Pies and Coffee Shop
14618 Solomons Island Rd.
410-326-8469
Lighthouse Inn
14636 Solomons Island Rd. South
410-326-2444
http://www.lighthouse-inn.com
Sedwick House
14376 Sedwick Ave.
410-326-0993
http://www.sedwickhouse.com
Solomons Victorian Inn
125 Charles St.
410-326-4811
http://www.solomonsvictorianinn.com
Southern Maryland Tours
410-394-0775
http://www.solomonswalkabout.com
Stoney’s Kingfishers Seafood House
14442 Solomons Island Rd.
410-394-0236
http://www.stoneysseafoodhouse.com
Tiki Bar
77 Charles St.
410-326-4015
Webster House
14364 Sedwick Ave.
410-326-2022
Zahnisers Yachting Center
245 C St.
410-326-2166
http://www.zahnisers.com
