Pilings support fishermen’s shanties and docks across from Tangier Island’s docks
“Island life.” What comes to mind when you hear those words? Warm climes, palm trees, sandy beaches, piña coladas, tropical sunsets? Two inhabited islands in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay in U.S.’s temperate Mid-Atlantic coastal region turn those images upside down.
Tangier Island, Virginia and Smith Island, Maryland sit about 12 miles off Maryland’s eastern shore, eight miles apart from each other. Inhabited since the mid-1700s, residents of these communities depend on crabbing, fishing, and oystering for their livelihoods. Successive generations of the first settlers still call those islands their home. Rising sea levels and erosion, though, threaten the future of each community.
Yet, they are well worth a visit to see and appreciate a unique way of life––a life dependent on the Bay by people who are independent and self-reliant.
The islands share common history, ways of life, and external threats
Throughout these two villages, evidence of their reliance on the fruits of the Chesapeake Bay paints an almost idyllic scene of life on the water. Fishing boats bob alongside wooden docks, while stacks of crabbing baskets and ropes strung with colorful floats sit on top of them. Fields of reeds and grasses bend to the breezes, as water channels infiltrate the settled areas. The harsh reality of working the shallows of the Bay for its edible treasures all year long, in all sorts of weather conditions, even during winter months, tells the story of strong, hard-working people devoted to their way of life.
Smith and Tangier Islands have similar development histories. Native Americans used both lands for hunting and fishing. Then, White settlers arrived in the mid-1700s to farm. A century later, inhabitants turned to the bay for fishing, crabbing, and oystering to earn their living, taking advantage of the booming demand for fresh seafood from nearby mainland cities, like Washington, Baltimore, and Philadelphia. Today, demand for seafood continues to grow along the eastern seaboard and beyond, ensuring what one might think is a form of job security for the residents of these islands. Climate change has other plans for them, though.
Besides the encroaching bay, extreme weather events hammer both Tangier and Smith Islands. Three twenty-first century hurricanes, including devastating Sandy, flooded the towns and damaged structures. Residents were forced to abandon homes, and many were torn down; homeowners repaired others and raised them on stilts.
Longtime residents of both islands speak a distinct dialect carried down through generations. An ongoing dispute among historians and linguists rages about the dialect’s origin. Traditional stories place the source as an evolution of Elizabethan English from early Cornish settlers, preserved because of its inhabitants’ isolation from mainlanders. More recently, linguists pronounce the source as an amalgam of southern American accents, not English. Since it’s nearly impossible to prove, the more exotic claim of an English dialect offshoot seems to prevail in promotional materials.
Accessible by boat, each is worth an afternoon visit to experience a unique and rapidly disappearing way of life. Mostly late nineteenth and twentieth century residential and commercial structures line the towns’ quaint, picture-postcard main streets. Some appear weather-worn, others newly painted. They contrast with many abandoned structures outside the “downtowns,” as rising sea levels and storms force people to leave their homes behind. Both islands have experienced significant population loss over the last several decades.
Tangier Island claims the title “Soft Shell Crab Capital of the Nation”
Tangier Island is home to a once bustling, now rapidly disappearing, community. Reaching a peak population of 1,120 in 1930, the latest census counts 436 among its residents. Its past, present, and future are inextricably enmeshed in the fortunes of the Chesapeake Bay.
In spite of its size, Tangier is an interesting footnote in American history. During the War of 1812 between the U.S. and Great Britain, the British built Fort Albion on Tangier Island to fight the Americans and eventually lead a successful sacking and burning of Washington. Fort Albion became a safe harbor for escaped slaves, and the British set them free. Tangier Island is officially listed as a stop along the National Underground Railroad Network.
I visited Tangier in 2011, a year before Hurricane Sandy. Walking outside the main part of town, I followed a road that eventually disappeared under water. Beyond, three multi-story houses sat in the bay up to their first-floor windows, victims of the relentless rising tides.
While crabbing and oystering serve as Tangier Island’s chief industries, rising sea levels and erosion threaten its future as a habitable location. At its highest elevation, four feet separate land from water. Since 1850, Tangier Island has lost 67% of its inhabitable land mass. Scientists predict the current rate of climate change will force the abandonment of the almost 300 year-old settlement by 2050. Time is running out for this unique way of life.
Yet, Tangier exudes a charm despite its precarious relationship with nature. This tightly-knit, friendly community welcomes visitors to stroll its streets and enjoy its marshes, nesting waterfowl, bay vistas, and docks and boats. Asked about the future threats to their island, many longtime residents state Tangier Island is their home; they’re not going anywhere.
We take the Island Belle II mail boat to Smith Island
It’s 2023. Three if us drive to Crisfield, Maryland on the Chesapeake Bay to the Tenth Street City Dock for the ferry to Smith Island. We board the Island Belle II with nine other passengers for the prompt 12:30 P.M. departure heading to the town of Ewell. A few passengers are tourists like us; others are returning home after shopping or keeping medical appointments on the mainland.
The Island Belle II carries the Island’s daily mail, plus dozens of Amazon and other mail-order boxes. Captain Otis Tyler, a lifelong resident whose ancestors settled here in the late 1700s, makes the round trip to the mainland and back twice daily, except on Sundays when he makes one round trip. Captain Tyler’s twelve-year-old grandson accompanies him today to continue to “learn the ropes” of eventually sailing the boat. I chat with a nurse who lives on the island but travels daily to the mainland to see patients. No other medical professionals live on Smith Island.
Hair-tousling wind and face-warming sun make the 75-minute boat ride part of the adventure. Entering the harbor at Ewell, the largest of three communities on Smith Island (the other two are Rhodes Point and Tylerton), we pass fishermen’s shacks and docks on pilings in the shallow water; older shanties have collapsed and are partially submerged. Including all three communities, the population peaked at 800 in the early twentieth century: now 340 live here.
Like Tangier Island, Smith Island continues to rapidly lose inhabitable land to the bay. At its highest point, a seven foot elevation will delay its inevitable appointment to slip under the Bay’s surface until around 2100, scientists predict.
Once on land, we head to the Harborside Restaurant, empty except for three local men finishing their lunches. Half-filled shelves of grocery products and essentials look like they’re waiting for the next shipment of goods from Crisfield. It’s the only grocery store on the island. A platter of fried oysters and French fries satisfy our hunger. While golf carts are the only motorized option to see Ewell and Smith’s other communities, we opt to wander on foot. The streets are empty on this hot, summer day, except for a few other tourists.
We head in the opposite direction from the town center, drawn to the impressive Smith Island Methodist Church, with its neatly maintained cemetery alongside. (Methodism is the denomination of choice for these Christian residents of both Smith and Tangier Islands.) Across the street, the recently built Cultural Center does a good job of presenting the life and times of the island––its history, traditions, and people––with a special focus on the resilient watermen, whose livelihoods depend on the bay. Captain Tyler claims only twenty watermen remain active on the island. The Center employs an engaging video and several displays of archival artifacts.
White wooden picket or four-foot chain link fences surround many yards of mostly neat houses typical of the region’s maritime history and more modest Cape Cod-style bungalows. Several structures need attention. An enormous metal rooster painted in bright colors sits in one yard, along with children’s play houses. We pass the now empty Ewell School. No students enrolled in the 2023 academic year; instead students travel to Crisfield daily to attend classes. Former businesses are now shuttered as residents moved away.
Fields of reeds and bay grasses sweep out towards a dock house and crabbing boats against the clear sky, painting a picturesque, layered image of green, white, and blue. Winding our way down a back street, we encounter once-impressive, stately homes, now empty, battered by the elements, a screen door hanging ajar on the front of a yellow clapboard house.
Around the next corner, Caleb Jones Road, Ewell’s main thoroughfare, stands in stark contrast to the abandoned street behind. The road embodies the charm of an old coastal town. Stately trees and pink crape myrtles in bloom line the pebbled, winding lane that’s just wide enough for two golf carts to pass each other. Well-maintained residences include handsome restorations, as well as newer homes. A few structures need attention. Attractive business shingles hang on posts in front of a one of the two bed-and-breakfast inns for tourists staying on the island overnight.
I head to the Smith Island Cake Shop to buy one of those renowned confections––eight-to-15 thin layers of yellow cake, filled and frosted with chocolate fudge icing. It’s Maryland’s official state dessert. The display case holds other flavors, like pumpkin, lemon, and red velvet, but I want the lauded original version. Smith Island Cakes are famous, and the bakers send these cakes around the world (they even sent one to Iran!). As you can imagine, it’s a heavy package to carry home. Cones from the ice cream shop satisfy my afternoon sweet tooth, as we sit on a bench across from the one-story, white clapboard Ewell Post Office, watching walkers and a golf cart roll by.
We board the 4:00 P.M. return boat to Crisfield after spending 2-1/2 hours poking around Ewell, experiencing this unusual slice of Americana that is threatened by shifts of the natural world.
Should you visit Tangier and Smith Islands?
Yes! Life on these islands embodies a world unfamiliar to most of us. These hard-working islanders are devoted to their disappearing way of life on the water, forming a tight community to earn a living and collectively bear the challenges of the constant intrusion of nature’s forces at work, all amidst the picturesque setting of the Bay. They welcome visitors, encouraging tourism as a way to augment their incomes from the Bay.
Ferries to both islands leave Crisfield midday and return late afternoon. Don’t be late for either. Prompt departures keep everything running smoothly. If you’re traveling from one of the major metropolitan areas, plan to make it a weekend visiting Maryland’s other eastern shore communities.
If You Go
(Information as of July 2025)
BY CAR:
- To Crisfield, MD: (Recommended: a one- or two-overnight stay and enjoy Maryland’s eastern shore communities, like Easton and St. Michaels)
- From Philadelphia: 178 miles/approx. 3 hrs. 45 mins.
- From Baltimore: 155 miles/approx. 3 hrs. 4 mins.
- From Washington D.C.: 157 miles/ approx. 2 hrs. 58 mins.
- To Reedville, VA. from Washington, D.C. for the Tangier Island Ferry: 100 miles/approx. 2 hrs.
- To Onancock, VA from Norfolk: 77 miles/approx.1 hr. 34 mins.
BY AIR:
- From Philadelphia International Airport to Salisbury Regional Airport: Direct flight–approx.1 hr. From $345 round-trip
- Car rental needed to drive to Crisfield: 36 miles
- From Baltimore and Washington: D.C.: no direct flights available
FERRY SERVICE:
For all ferries:
- Reservations are recommended, esp. weekends; call for parking and dock locations
- All ferries depart from Crisfield at 12:30 P.M., leaving the islands at 4:00 P.M.
- Approx. price for round-trips on all ferries: $35. Parking $3.
To Smith Island from Crisfield:
- Belle Island II –– 443-235-3992 or 410-726-1824
- Captain Jason I –– 443-880-1508
- Smith Island Cruises –– 410-425-2771 (late May to early October. Reservations required.)
To Tangier Island:
- From Crisfield: Tangier Island Cruises –– 410-968-2338 (late May to early October)
- From Onancock, VA: Tangier Island Cruises –– on the Joyce Marie II –– 757-891-2505 (May to September)
- From Reedville, VA: Tangier Island Cruises –– on the Chesapeake Breeze –– 804-453-2628 (departs at 10:00 A.M.)
ACCOMODATIONS:
Smith Island:
- Smith Island Inn: 410-425-2650
- Island Time B & B: 410-425-2771
Tangier Island:
- Bay View Inn: 757-891-2396
- Brigadune Inn: 757-891-2396
- Hilda Crokett’s Chesapeake House: 757-891-2331