Chesapeake City! Sleepy Town USA.
By Winston D. Munnings
2 Nov 2009
Coming from a media background (radio, television & newspaper) there were a few mentors I truly admired on the American small screen. ABC's Peter Jennings was certainly a favorite as well as legendary Walter Cronkite (CBS) often cited as "the most trusted man in America." But, my all time favorite American TV personality was Charles Krault, also of CBS and best known for his 'On The Road' segments on the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite in the 70's and 80's.
When I was researching for this article, Krault immediately came to mind as the subject of this essay is analogous with what his 'On The Road' news segments were all about....wondering through America's 'back roads' in search of this country's people and their way of life ... so to speak.
Unlike Krault, however, I wasn't searching or wondering as such, but boy did I ever stumbled across such a place on one of America's 'back roads' a few weeks ago. I was attending a four day work-shop on Wedding Photography in a tiny out of the way settlement in the State of Maryland called 'Chesapeake City'... population 400. If you really want to see a bit of Americana, this is certainly a 'must visit.'
According to the Merchants Association there, Chesapeake City (formerly known as ...the Village of Bohemia...) was a dream of Augustine Herman, a Czech explorer, merchant, and cartographer, to connect the Delaware River and the Chesapeake Bay. In 1764 a canal route, which later became known as the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, was marked and the actual project started in 1824. The village became a hub of activity and a thriving port. In 1839 the Village of Bohemia became Chesapeake City and (today) is on the National Historic Registry as well as on Maryland's Historic Registry.
However, what I found out of the ordinary about CC (short for Chesapeake City by one of the few locals I was finally able to meet) was this: CC appears to be a place where time has literally stopped...at least during the short time I was there as a visitor in residence.
In short, NOTHING was happening there. There were no kids running the streets; no dogs barking; no taxi cabs waiting for a fare; no noise (almost of any kind); no birds flying or tweeting; no homeless folks on the streets; no deliveries (of any kind) being made to the local stores; no police on a motorcycle or in a standard issue car waiting to ticket some poor soul ... absolutely NOTHING. NADA! ZILCH!
Maybe the weather had something to do with it, as it was uncommonly muggy and depressing looking. Few people were around during the daytime which is one of the reasons this photo essay is so 'people-less.' It was like a phantom town there during daytime, but come dinner time CC's five restaurants or so were jam-packed to the rim serving up some of the best seafood I've eaten in years. Go figure! But after a night of fine dining and drinking Merlot, it was back to Ghostville USA all over come morning time.
This, I thought, was very unusual given that a metropolis like Baltimore was only an hour and a half drive south of CC on I-95 with Wilmington, Delaware (another energetic metropolitan area) exactly twenty seven miles to the north. Being in CC was like living in a time zone.
One night after dinner (my second night in CC) I walked a short distance to the Bed & Breakfast where I stayed for four days. Beautiful accommodation it was and very Victorian looking with canopy beds in each of the B&B's seven rooms. The "Inn At The Canal" had an aura of old world charm throughout the entire house. It was actually quite nice. It was about 8:30 in the evening when I thought I'd sit on the porch in a rocking chair for some R & R and to re-examine all I've done during the day at the workshop.
I sat there for almost two hours. The weather had held up somewhat, but the weatherman had forecasted lower temperatures for the area later in the evening, and even lower temperatures by morning. After spending all but two hours on the Porch at 'Inn At The Canal' (the B&B) I saw no one. Not one person passed by, not one car, not one dog walking running or barking, not one policeman, no owls hooting and not one ghost to scare the crap out of you: NOTHING.
As I mentioned earlier, the weather was not the best (as you can certainly judge from the pictures here assembled) so (again) maybe this had something to do with why I hadn't seen too many locals during my four days stay in CC.
Having said all that, however, I must say that Chesapeake City is an old-world looking colonial town (evidently) just the thing for a complete getaway and a place (no doubt) where Charles Krault would have found a story fitting his TV program which became a regular feature on the CBS evening news nearly three decades ago. (Krault's show lasted for almost 25 years until his death in 1997 at the young age of 62.)
Come to think about it though, Chesapeake City is (perhaps) just the kind of place for someone looking for exactly what CC has to offer. Can't imagine what that is but, as the saying goes, there's a piece of America out there for 'all and sundry'.
Will I return? Certainly, but not without my wife, a case of Merlot and, at least, two or three other couples that know a thing or two about breathing. One thing is for certain though, if you want complete silence or want to get away from everyone and everything, Chesapeake City just might be your kind of town.
Honeymoon couples must really love the place.
2 responses
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David McKenzie said (2 Nov 2009):
Hey! I know that place--I went to school in Delaware, and we sometimes went to CC for crabs & beer, at a place called the Tap Room. I wonder if it's still there. Thanks for the memories! I think your photos very nicely capture the essence of the place. Great job!
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Suzanne Arnold gave props (4 Nov 2009):
Nice story; kept me captivated and it sounds like a place I would like to visit, especially since I live in Maryland.
