May 19, 2017

Photos and text by Algerina Perna

: St. Michaels is a destination for people living near and far. Jerry Sharrard and Nola Kathleen from Alaska travel with their dog, Noah in a shellback boat they built. They also built their 50′ boat which is docked off Navy Point. In the foreground is the H.M Krentz. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: The 1879 Hooper Straight Lighthouse on the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum campus faces the Miles River. Its original location was forty miles south in Hooper straight and marked a hidden sand bar. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Third graders from Fruitland Intermediate School (Wicomico County) board the Patriot for a scenic tour of the area including wildlife in their natural habitats. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: The bow of the H.M Krentz, an authentic working skipjack, pierces the dawn sky off the coast of St.Michaels where it’s docked at Navy Point. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: David Breimhurst walks with his dog, “Tookie,” an Australian Labradoodle, on to the Bill Shook Memorial Bridge on the St. Michaels Nature Trail. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: A view of St. Michaels is seen from the Hooper Straight Lighthouse. Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum’s working boatyard is in the foreground. In the background, restaurants and private homes border St. Michaels Harbor. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Third graders from Fruitland Intermediate School (Wicomico County) visit the working boatyard at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. At right right is a new log hull shipwrights are building for the historic 1889 bugeye Edna E. Lockwood at left. A bugeye is a hybrid of three boats used for oyster dredging on the Chesapeake Bay. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: A great blue heron is one of over 400 species of birds living or migrating to the Chesapeake Bay. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: The fresnel lens in the Lantern Room of the Hooper Straight Lighthouse shines on the Miles River and St. Michaels Harbor. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: The sunrise gives a pink cast to a pier off St. Michaels at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: A great blue heron perches on a floating dock. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: “Edna” the cat, named after the Edna E. Lockwood, an oyster dredge, sits on a workbench in the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum’s working boatyard. The dredge, which operated from 1889-1967, is being restored by the museum. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: A reflection of the mast of the H.M Krentz, an authentic working skipjack, is seen in the Miles River at Navy Point. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: The Winnie Estelle, a 1920 buyboat, is available for river cruises. The captain of a buyboat would buy watermen’s catches and take them to large markets for sale. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: A purple martin heads for a birdhouse on the grounds of Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: At the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, Morris Ellison coats the boom of the Edna E. Lockwood with varnish. The 27-foot-long boom is made of solid pine. At far right is the 54-foot-long hollow mast made of several pieces of west coast spruce. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Richard and Joanne Vogel from Ocean Isle Beach, NC walk on Talbot Street. At left is the “Silver Linings” store. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: A mallard duck stands in the wetlands off St. Michaels. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: The “Cannonball House” on St. Mary’s Square built for shipbuilder William Merchant was hit by cannonball during the War of 1812. Dubbed the “town that fooled the British,” St. Michaels legend -or fact- has it that residents blacked-out the town and raised lights above the city into the trees, causing the British to overshoot the town with cannon fire. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: A rowing skiff sit on a floating dock at Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum on the Miles River at Navy Point. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Jaime Windon and Ben Lyon are owners of Lyon distilling Co, a small-batch craft distillery on Talbot Street. The company grew from 2 to 12 people in 4 years. They sell to liquor stores and bars in DC and Maryland in quantities from 1 gallon to 53 gallon-barrels. Five gallon and smaller is their focus. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: St. Michaels is seen from the second floor of the Lighthouse Oyster Bar and Grill. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: The Bill Shook Memorial Bridge spans the San domingo Tidal Creek on the St. Michaels Nature Trail. The trail extends 1.3 miles. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Donna Lukis from Minneapolis, Minnesota leaves Justamere Trading Post on Talbot Street. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Rowing skiffs sit on a floating dock at Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum on the Miles River at Navy Point with the Perry Cabin Townhouses in the background. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

Among the many towns on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, St. Michaels occupies a unique place in history. Legend says that during the War of 1812, the blackout of St. Michaels and the raising of lanterns in the trees outside the town caused the British to overshoot the town. A St. Michaels sign displayed along Route 33 greets visitors with the proclamation, “The Town that Fooled the British.”

The town was named in 1677 for The Christ Episcopal Church of St. Michael Archangel parish. It’s economy has shifted over the years from a trading post for tobacco farmers and trappers, to shipbuilding and seafood processing, to tourism.

The hamlet of about 1,050 residents has much to offer visitors. The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum provides interactive displays about the history, environment and people of the Chesapeake Bay. Picturesque views can be seen from the top of the Hooper Strait Lighthouse.

After sampling beverages at the local winery, brewery or distillery, tourists can enjoy the region’s signature fare of crabs and oysters at restaurants overlooking St. Michaels’ coastline. Whether from land or boat, St. Michaels provides a place to relax, unwind and savor both the man-made and natural beauty of this Eastern Shore gem.

St. Michaels: The Town that Fooled the British

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