Before the Bay Bridge made access to the Atlantic easier, the Chesapeake Bay was dotted with beach-type resorts. Located in Calvert County, Maryland, Chesapeake Beach and neighboring North Beach were two of the most popular. Chesapeake Beach, the resort, officially opened on June 9, 1900 when visitors from Washington, D.C., stepped from the coaches of a brand new railroad specifically built to transport them there. Likewise, steamboat service from Baltimore to the resort was inaugurated the same day. The resort's success fueled the rise of North Beach, and the two destinations were popular with Washington and Baltimore residents for many years to come. Here is the story of their halcyon days as summertime resorts of the bay. More than 230 vintage postcards and other memorabilia recall early, happy times there. AUTHOR: James Tigner, Jr. is an antiques and collectibles dealer specializing in postcards, paper memorabilia, ephemera, and postal history. His earlier books are Yesterday on the Chesapeake Bay and Oxford, St. Michaels, and the Talbot County Bayside. With this book he continues his goal of researching and of telling the history of the Chesapeake Bay Tidewater region.
