CHESAPEAKE CITY, MARYLAND
PHOTOGRAPHY BY GISELLE TRUJILLO
DESTINATIONS • North America • Unites States of America • Maryland • Chesapeake
by GISELLE TRUJILLO
Chesapeake, MARYLAND
A QUAINT BOHEMIAN TOWN
This quaint little town, previously named Village of Bohemia or Bohemia Manor by Augustine Herman a Bohemian explorer, cartographer and merchant born in 1621 in The Kingdom of Bohemia, today known as Czech Republic also knows as Czechia.
Chesapeake became the new name after C&D Canal (Chesapeake and Delaware Canal) in 1839 and it is the only town in Maryland situated along an active commercial canal that happens to be one of the busiest canals in the world. Part of the town is beneath a bridge. Because the canal was built in the middle of the town, the town was split into two sections, north and south and connected by a drawbridge until the bridge was destroyed in 1942.
By 1911 a small community of Ukranians purchased farmland and established homes on the edge of Chesapeake City. During the late 20th century, Chesapeake City was recognized as the most important thoroughbred stud farms in the world, the Winfield’s Farm. By the 1920s, Ukrainans brought their culture and traditions to the top of Maryland’s Eastern Shore. They also established Ukranian Catholic Churches and Orphanage along the canal, operating until 1970s, however the Church is currently active in serving the community with regular services.
The new current bridge is called the Chesapeake City Bridge and was opened in 1949 and carries Route 213. The bridge is long and very tall for large equipment and vessels to pass underneath. The new bridge is almost identical the St. Georges Bridge in Delaware. Unfortunately, this new modern bridge stole much of the towns traffic to cross into the city and for many decades businesses declined.
Chesapeake City is a water community, where you can enjoy live music events in the summer, great restaurants, many bed and breakfasts, a tiny playground for the kids, small shops and a destination to park your boat and walk around town for the day. This town is very welcoming and the overall environment feels relaxed.
As of 2026, its growing population is 752 and Chesapeake City is listed not The National Register of Historic Places in 1966 and the South Chesapeake City Historic District was also listed in 1974.
We visited in August of 2023, houses looked very beautiful with their bloomed flowers, green trees and beautiful porches. Each house had its uniques beauty, regardless of close the houses are to each other. We enjoyed seeing such a well kept community, clean, well organized and you feel that people truly care about their houses and an over all community sense of quality and care, very picturesque. I love looking at all the beautiful homes architectures and wonder what it was like when these families first built their homes, the happiness and joy the families felt.
We spent about 34 hours in Historic Chesapeake City, we asked for good restaurants recommendations and four very well recommended, one was mostly seafood, which normally I would have loved, however, I wanted to visit a restaurant were I was confident Mateu would find something delicious and familiar to him. Usually we love to try new foods, however, considering we were super hungry and the only meal we were having for the day, we needed to choose wisely. And we chose a family friendly restaurant, we sat outdoors next to the canal and watched the big ships topped with containers from around the world, it was truly a lovely restaurant, again, spectacular views, below is our restaurant of choice.
The Bayard House Restaurant • 11 Bohemia Ave, Chesapeake City, MD 21915, United States
OUR HONEST REVIEW
This waterfront restaurant sits on the iconic Chesapeake & Delaware Canal, and that is prime property and I mean feet away from the water, talk about riparian rights, after dinner, my son and I sat by a little beach, wet our feet and just enjoyed the moment. The restaurant has a very nice classic decoration. Guest services was outstanding, our waiter was amazing, everyone, including the owner/manager were extremely welcoming and friendly to us. The environment is excellent, prices are up there, Mateu, went safe with a burger, he enjoyed it, besides you could never go wrong with a burger or pizza, and I ordered their popular beer cheese pretzel dish, which was extremely salty and I had to send it back, because it was unbearable, plus a dessert, which we both enjoyed. Our total arrived at $65 including the tip. Let’s rate this place, 1 is poor, 5 is outstanding.
AMBIANCE
5
SERVICE
5
PRICES
Mid – High
FOOD
3
Mateu and I walked the entire City for over five hours. Of course, we stopped here and there, relaxed by the arena, listened to live music, played at the kid playground for an hour and explored as much as we could. Below are some highlights.
