Chesapeake+Beach

In the late 1800s, developers planned to build a large resort on the beach of Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. Starting in 1887, the Chespeake Beach Railway Company began construction of tracks to the Chesapeake Bay. The grand opening of the resort was on June 9, 1900.

Back then, Chesapeake Beach was a tourist town. People came from the Washington, D. C. area by train or by steamboat from Baltimore. The Dreamland was a popular steamboat from 1909 until the mid 1920's. The Dixie was another popular steamboat; it sailed from Baltimore during the 1930's

(The photo shown in the original entry is NOT the same steamboat named Dixie that came to Cheaaapeake Beach in the 1930's. Note the presence of bales of cotton on the decks; it is probably a Missisippi River boat.)

Today, Chesapeake Beach is still a major tourist town and vacation destination, though its population has been holding steady at around 3200 residents.