Solomons Island

Originally called Bourne's Island (1680), then Somervell's Island (1740), it became known as Solomons Island in 1870 because of Isaac Solomon's oyster packing facilities. Solomons' home still stands on the front of the island.

In the 19th century, shipyards developed to support the island's fishing fleet. The Marsh Shipyard built schooners and sloops, but became famous for its bugeyes, the forerunner of the skipjack. In the War of 1812, Commodore Joshua Barney's flotilla sailed from here to attack British vessels on the Chesapeake Bay. The deep, protected harbor has been a busy marine center ever since.

Solomons is the home of the Calvert Marine Museum. This is an accredited museum, whose exhibits include:

• the Wm. B. Tennison, the oldest passenger carrying vessel on the Bay
• the Drum Point Lighthouse, commissioned in 1883, which sat at the mouth of the Patuxent until moved in 1975 and painstakenly restored
• a noteworthy marine art collection
• boatbuilding exhibits and small craft collection
• 15 million year old Miocene fossils, including the famous sharks' teeth

The Wm. B. Tennison

Drum Point Lighthouse, relocated at the Solomons Museum

The J. C. Lore Oysterhouse, owned by the museum, is open to the public from May through September. The oysterhouse exhibit depicts the seafood harvesting and processing business which once flourished in the Solomons.

information gathered from the Solomons Island Tourist Center

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