Cambridge Captain's Walk

Cambridge is one of the oldest cities in Maryland - founded in 1684. Its growth into a center of culture and economic affluence by the late 19th century arose from the abundance of resources in and around the Choptank River and Chesapeake Bay.

Planters were to first to amass wealth from agricultural resources and slave labor.   By the mid-1800s, lumbering, manufacturing, and shipbuilding were the chief economic activities.  Large-scale maritime shipping and oystering kept Cambridge docks packed and packing houses profitable through the turn of the century. By this time more than 200 oystering vessels made Cambridge their home port.
 
Most oyster captains did not get rich. But some Bay and sea captains amassed fortunes from shipping, shipbuilding, and merchandising, and displayed their success by building fine homes near the Cambridge waterfront.

This trip itinerary takes you on a short water-borne tour of the Cambridge waterfront from Franklin Street, past Long Wharf to a landing in Cambridge Creek. Shake out your sea legs here for a walking tour over the Cambridge Creek bridge to High Street. Stroll past Capt. Thomas’s 1884 mansion in the French Second Empire Style, Capt. Leonard’s 20-room mansion that was later divided in two, the homesite of Capt. Howard who fought in the Oyster Wars.... and other remarkable mansions on High Street

(Historical text for the walking tour is provided by Dorchester County Tourism. Stop by the Dorchester & Cambridge Visitor Center at Sailwinds Park in Cambridge for additional information about this and other walking and driving tours in and around Cambridge.)

Distance:

On Water - 1.2 Miles Roundtrip; Walking - 1.5 Miles Roundtrip

River:

Lower Choptank, Cambridge Creek

Start:

Franklin Street Boat Ramp, Cambridge

Destinations:

Cambridge Creek (Trenton Street) Boat Ramp, then Cambridge’s High Street

Route Description:

Launch from Franklin Street near Dorchester Hospital. Explore the Cambridge working waterfront near Long Wharf and inside Cambridge Creek. Land at Trenton Street.  Walk across Cambridge Creek Bridge, then 3 blocks ahead to High Street. Long Wharf is to the right, at the end of the street.

Themes:

Riverine Trade, Colonial History, African-American Heritage, Religion

Best Seasons:

Summer, Autumn

Sites on This Trip

Site

Miles From Start

Features

Cambridge Shipyards, east side of creek mouth

0.2

Marine services company on site of shipyards dating back to the mid-1700s

Long Wharf

0.3

Once L-shaped wharf, Maryland’s second largest port facility after Baltimore

Sites of packing houses on Cambridge Creek

0.5

On both sides of creek, sites of mills and packing houses that processed and shipped 250,000 tons of grain, 10,000 barrels of crabs, 600,000 gallons of oysters, half a million pounds of fish and 50,000 crates of peaches in 1868

High Street Mansions

1.0-2.0

Elegant former homes of Chesapeake Bay captains, bankers, and several Maryland Governors

 

River Trip
Itineraries on the:

 Lower
Choptank

Middle
Choptank

Upper
Choptank

Tuckahoe
River

Planning
Guides