St. Michaels in Talbot County, Maryland — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
What's under your feet?
If you could drill down and pull up a sample, oyster shells would be up to 10 feet deep in some places. But that wasn't always the case. Two hundred years ago you would have been standing on low marshy land. As industries like oyster shucking houses, a sawmill, a cannery, and crab picking houses developed here at Navy Point, they needed more land to expand. How did they create it? By filling in the marsh and harbor with discarded oyster shells.
The area where the Crab Claw Restaurant stands was one of the first parts of Navy Point to be built up with oyster shells. Founded as the Eastern Shore Crab Company, the business shucked and sold the local soft-shell (steamer) clams. It expanded in 1966, when owner Bill Jones turned it into a restaurant, shortly after the museum was founded next door. The restaurant, a St. Michaels landmark, is still owned by the family.
[Captions:]
The Crab Claw Restaurant, as pictured to the left, was originally built over the Eastern Shore Clam Company.
Above: Oyster shells, byproducts from Navy Point's shucking houses, are piled on the site where the Crab Claw Restaurant stands today.
Left: Navy Point was much smaller in 1877.
Erected by Chesapeake
this page online
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Animals • Industry & Commerce. A significant historical year for this entry is 1966.
Location. This marker has been replaced by another marker nearby. It was located near 38° 47.235′ N, 76° 13.237′ W. Marker was in St. Michaels, Maryland, in Talbot County. It was at the intersection of Mill Street and Burns Street, on the right when traveling west on Mill Street. Touch for map. Marker was at or near this postal address: 304 Mill Street, Saint Michaels MD 21663, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker was on the Eastern Shore. It was also in the American Mid-Atlantic, on the Delmarva Peninsula, in the Tidewater, and in the Chesapeake Bay Region. Globally, it was in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it found itself in what was once one of the original Thirteen Colonies and also the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this location: A different marker also
Other markers no longer nearby. Freedom's Figurehead (was a few steps from this marker but has been permanently removed); a different marker also named Navy Point Historic Houses (was within shouting distance of this marker but has been permanently removed).
Credits. This page was last revised on October 6, 2025. It was originally submitted on August 25, 2019, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 228 times since then and 14 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on August 25, 2019, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
