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Chestertown Historic Chestertown. The orderly grid of streets leading from the riverfront is a living museum of homes that stood in Colonial times. The sights along Water, Queen, High and Cross streets are best appreciated on foot, guided by annotations on a walking tour brochure published by the Kent County Chamber of Commerce. More details are available in a booklet, "Chestertown: An Architectural Guide." A Kent County map outlines a 110-mile driving tour of this picturesque county, which includes the old-line waterman's community of Rock Hall and the beach at Betterton, considered the best swimming beach on the Chesapeake. Maps for nine bicycle tours are included in a Kent County Bicycle Tour brochure. Dixon's Auction Barn, Routes 544 and 290 off 30l, Crumpton, (410) 928-3006. Every Wednesday is auction day at Dixon's, when you might find seven or eight pianos in a field, a tractor-trailer full of plants, a small Amish farm market and a warehouse stuffed with concession stands, furniture and antiques. Buyers and sellers of used and antique furniture come from across the country to deal here in something of a circus atmosphere. Auctioneer Norman Dixon takes no more than fifteen seconds to sell any item on his lot; if it's not sold, he gives it to anyone willing to take it. Table after table full of bric-a-brac leave some cold, and if you spot something you want, you have to wait until the auctioneer reaches that table and bid fast. When he and the crowd move in, things happen so fast the unwary bidder scarcely has time to think. As the typewritten handout says, "the auctioneer does not miss you, you miss him. So if you want something, holler out before he sells it, not afterwards." Open Wednesdays from 7 a.m. Waterman's Museum, 20880 Rock Hall Ave., Rock Hall, (410) 778-6697. This little museum, nicely renovated from an abandoned house, was opened lately by the owner of Haven Harbor Marina to preserve the history and lore of the watermen of Rock Hall. Three display rooms show exhibits on oystering and crabbing, plus fishing gear, local photographs, carvings and boats. "If it's been used on the water, we've probably got it," advises head curator Richard Burton, former marina manager who came out of retirement to oversee the well financed local venture. One of the more interesting exhibits involves a replica of a waterman's ark, a one-room shanty of a house on the scow of a boat. A pier was in the works to accommodate several workboats, including a skipjack, for visitors to board. Open daily, 10 to 5. St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Ricauds Branch-Langford Road, Chestertown. Actress Tallulah Bankhead, whose family lives nearby, is among the notables buried in the cemetery outside this historic church, built in 1713 and the oldest in Maryland. Giant oak trees, some more than 300 years old, rise among the boxwoods in the church yard. The interior is notable for embroidered kneelers and a beautiful stained-glass side window. A poster at our first visit piqued interest with word of an oyster roast celebrating the parish's 300th year. Shopping. The shopping opportunities are wonderful in Chestertown, which has an uncommon selection of locally run, upscale stores and boutiques. Most are concentrated along High and Cross streets in the center of town. In the heart of Rock Hall, you can visit a restored corner drugstore, 1930s style, at Durding's Store; ice-cream sodas made with real vanilla beans are served at the original marble soda fountain amidst a selection of cards, gifts and sundries. Extra-Special Remington Farms, Route 20, Chestertown. (410) 778-1565. A driving tour leads through the 3,000-acre wildlife management demonstration area operated by the du Pont company in conjunction with Remington, the arms manufacturer. An informative brochure points out wildlife management practices being applied here. The self-guided tour takes one past ponds, swamps, woods and fields and involves fifteen marked – and some unmarked – stops for wildlife and plants. The leisurely drive is the closest thing we've found so far north to the famed J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Preserve on Florida's Sanibel Island, although the finds are neither so prolific nor so exotic. The quantity and variety of waterfowl you'll see depends on the season and the time of day. The habitat tour can take an hour or more, depending on stops. It's open free daily from February to Oct. 10, when it's closed to the public for hunting season. Material excerpted from Inn Spots & Special Places / Mid-Atlantic, by Nancy and Richard Woodworth. Copyright 2003. Wood Pond Press E-mail feedback to: Home
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