9 Best Sights in The Eastern Shore, Maryland

This reproduction of a 1768 Colonial schooner by the same name was launched in 2001. With a length of 97 feet, the original Sultana was the smallest schooner ever registered on the Royal Navy Lists. The modern mission of this "Schoolship of the Chesapeake" is to provide unique, hands-on educational experiences in Colonial history and environmental science. Several two-hour public sails are available each month from April through November. Daylong public sails are scheduled on occasion. The Sultana can be seen close-up when she is anchored in the Chester River, at the end of Cannon Street. Additionally, half-day guided paddle tours operated by Sultana management are also available a few times a year in various Kent Count rivers.

This 65-foot steel-hull yacht departs four times daily, from March through September, for one-hour cruises on the Miles River. The tour covers the ecology and history of the area as it passes along the tranquil riverfront landscape.

Opened in 2009, this modern structure on the banks of the Pocomoke River delivers hands-on experiences of the region's history. Exhibits focus on the work- and lifestyles of indigenous communities and early settlers, on local wildlife, and on the river as a fishing and shipbuilding industry hub and a major port for Chesapeake Bay steamers during the 19th century. The center's aquarium has a 6,000-gallon tank containing fish found in the Pocomoke River.

About a 10-minute drive east of Chestertown is Dixon's Furniture Auction (Crumpton Auction), a Maryland Eastern Shore institution—with much more than just furniture (although there are literally a couple of acres of that). Hundreds of pieces, " OTHER people's junk" and real treasures, are sold out in the open, regardless of the weather. A huge shed houses smaller items defying easy description, from atlases to zithers. The auction is held every Wednesday of the year (Christmas week excepted) beginning at 8 am.

There is not a lot to do in town, but to learn about its history, stop by this center operated by the Crisfield Heritage Foundation. Guided tours of Crisfield are run from here; from May through October the tours include a visit to a crab processing plant.

Seven miles southwest of Cambridge stands this tiny church that was built around 1675. In the churchyard are the graves of four governors of Maryland and several members of the distinguished political and clerical Carroll family. Services are still held here every Sunday at 11. Extensively altered in the 1800s, the church has been restored to its 17th-century appearance.

Stop by Ruke's, a venerable general store across from the ferry dock that serves excellent fresh seafood.

Completed in 1809 this is a glimpse into middle-class life of the early 19th century. The two-story cottage, furnished with period pieces, sits in a little yard surrounded by a picket fence.

From the early 1900s, this was the western terminus of the old Queen Anne's Railroad Company system.