Like the waterfront location at the foot of Tilghman Street, this area at the head of Town Creek has always been a center of maritime activity.
To your right are a series of docks dedicated to working watermen. These boats are still active year-round, used to harvest crabs in the summer and fall, and oysters in the winter and early spring. If you would like to meet a waterman on his way to work, come on by at around 4:30 any morning.
The small white building alongside the docks is not an outhouse. It is a “counting house.” For the convenience of local watermen, several tiny buildings like this one were once placed along Oxford’s wharves. These were actually miniature offices where watermen would offload and sell their catch of oysters and crabs to the areas packing houses. This is Oxford’s last surviving counting house. A sign on the front of the building will give you a fuller explanation of its use.
The old red structure to your left has served generations of boaters, both commercial and recreational. Originally it housed a blacksmith shop meeting the metal-working needs of the local watermen. In later years the focus shifted to building and maintaining the vessels that watermen used for crabbing and oystering.
The yard was purchased by Curtis Applegarth in 1951 and became known as Applegarth’s Marine Yard. Applegarth was a prolific boat designer and builder. In just 3 decades, 73 vessels were constructed and launched from here. Applegarth is best known for building small versions of the Chesapeake Bay skipjack. An example, owned by the Museum, is ‘Yankee Pedler’ on display in front of the Oxford Community Center. (Stop #34). While attempting to paint the name “Yankee Peddler,” Applegarth ran out of room so he changed the spelling to fit.
The yard used a marine railway to pull boats out of the water and launch them back in. The head of the railway is still visible on the concrete slab leading to the water. These railways carried adjustable "cradles" of various shapes and sizes, mounted on wheels for positioning under the hulls that were to be hauled. The cradles and boats were then pulled from the water by cable and chain connected to winches. Currently the home of the Oxford Yacht Agency, the yard provides dockage and brokerage services for new and used boats.
Go back to South Morris St and head south. Crossover Caroline Street and look to your right at the Holy Trinity Church ( Stop #32).