Info:       
 
Tilghman Island

Web:
www.tilghmanisland.com

E-Mail:
info@tilghmanisland.com

Talbot County Chamber of Commerce
101 Marlboro Ave., Ste. 53
PO Box 1366
Easton, MD 21601

Web:
www.talbotchamber.org

Phone:
410-822-4606

E-Mail:
info@talbotchamber.com

Talbot County Office of Tourism
11 South Harrison Street
Easton, MD 21601

Web:
www.tourtalbot.org

Phone:
410-770-8000

E-mail:
cbaker@talbgov.org

The Tilghman Island Inn
PO Box B
Tilghman Island, MD 21671

Web:
www.tilghmanislandinn.
com

Phone:
800-866-2141
410-886-2141

E-Mail:
info@tilghmanislandinn.com

Fishing - Harrison’s Chesapeake House
21551 Chesapeake House Drive
Tilghman Island, MD 21671

Web:
www.chesapeakehouse.
com

Phone:
410-886-2121
410-886-2109

E-Mail:
cheshse@goeaston.net

 

Tilghman Island, MD - Life in the Slow Lane                                

by Phil Johnson
photos courtesy of TilghmanIsland.com

Cross the drawbridge to Tilghman Island, a part of  Maryland’s Eastern Shore, and the first thing you’ll see is Fairbank Tackle, Fuel & Market.  

Kim Taylor is the third generation in this family business: an "if-we-don’t-have-it, you-don’t-need-it" store at the head of this three mile long island. There is only one main road on the island, and when you reach the end of it, there is only the Chesapeake Bay ahead.  

"We are not the end of the world," Says Kim. “But you can see it from here”.  

If you are looking for a quiet getaway, you are there.    

Tilghman Island is reached via Route 33, a winding two-lane stretch that starts out in Easton, MD. Tourists often travel this way to get to the harbor and quaint shops of the small village St. Michaels. Go a few miles further and you are at the drawbridge entrance to Tilghman.  
 
For more than a century, Tilghman has been home to generations of "watermen," people who have made their living catching crabs from April to October, and hauling oysters from November until deep into winter. There are a lot fewer watermen today than just a generation ago. But, the population has been replenished by an influx of retirees who have come to the island for its slow pace and mild climate.  

About the only place there is hustle and bussle on the island  these days is around the "Liar’s Bench” outside Fairbank market, in early morning and late afternoon. Folks have been meeting and swapping stories there since the 1940s.  
 
We visited the island at the end of October, always a quiet time in a place that knows quiet times. In fact, one recent visitor suggested the Tilghman tagline should be: "Home of the Good Night’s Sleep".

Yes - There's Plenty to Do Here                              

Quiet doesn’t mean trance-like. We had an excellent evening meal at the Tilghman Island Inn, where we stayed the night. The only distraction was waking up in the morning to the sound of the migrating birds who had settled in along Knapp’s Narrows, the water run that separates the island from the mainland. There are several restaurants, inns and bed and breakfasts on the island and no problem getting a table at this time of the year.

As you would expect from such a small island, Tilghman is a great place to see by bicycle, or from the water. There are bikes, canoes, kayaks and jet skis for rent on the island.

And there are several tour options available also, including a two hour daily trip aboard the Rebecca T. Ruark, the country's oldest "skipjack” or wind powered oyster fishing boat. This restored sailing vessel first plied the area waters in 1886. It's now a National Historic Landmark.

Birdwatchers flock to Black Walnut Cove at the end of the island. For a closer look at the island ecosystem, Phillips Wharf Environment Center near the drawbridge is the place to visit.  

As you would expect, there are several options for fisherman, too. Harrison’s Sport Fishing Center at mid-island is the largest with 14 boats in its charter fleet. This is primarily big boat, big rig trolling with rockfish—what is commonly known as striped bass—the principal target.

There are also lots of fall duck and goose hunting options here too.  

If you really want to make contact with your inner-Bubba, try the Cast and Blast option offered at Harrison’s: half a day fishing and half a day shooting ocean ducks from the boat.  

If shopping is a part of the agenda, there isn’t much to get excited about on Tilghman. But just up the road is St. Michaels with its mix of colorful shops and a variety of good restaurants  in and around the harbor.

The food choices are wide but it is tough to overlook the hard shell crab offering at the Crab and Claw. This is full contact eating! They cover the table with plain white paper, bring in the mallets, dump a tray full of crabs in the middle and it is whack– pick–dip and savor time. This is not a menu choice for delicate dining. But the crab is good eating.  

The eastern Shore of Maryland is known for its beaches near Ocean City, and for its quaint places like Oxford and St. Michaels. But if you want life in the slow lane, head to Tilghman Island and look for the end of the earth.