St. Michaels in Talbot County, Maryland — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Fishing Shanty / Ark
Photographed By Devry Becker Jones (CC0), August 24, 2019
1. Fishing Shanty/Ark Marker
Inscription.
Fishing Shanty, also, Ark. . Arks were floating cabins used by watermen as living quarters while they fished for shad and herring on the Chesapeake Bay, far away from home. As the fish made their spring run up the Bay, the watermen would follow, towing the arks behind their boats. When they reached the new fishing grounds, the arks were hauled out on land., Sometimes a dozen or more arks would haul out in the same area, creating a "shanty town." In the fall or winter when the fishing season was over, arks were often used by oystermen and hunters. By the 1920s, with better roads and automobiles, making it easy for watermen to return home during fishing trips, the use of arks dwindled. ,
Built: Date and place unknown , Length: 12 ft, 0.5 in (3.67 m) , Beam: 7 ft, 1.5 in (2.18 m)
, [Caption:] , Oystermen's ark village at the mouth of the Chester River, near Rock Hall, MD, c. 1895. Photographer unknown. Courtesy of the Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore, MD.
Arks were floating cabins used by watermen as living quarters while they fished for shad and herring on the Chesapeake Bay, far away from home. As the fish made their spring run up the Bay, the watermen would follow, towing the arks behind their boats. When they reached the new fishing grounds, the arks were hauled out on land.
Sometimes a dozen or more arks would haul out in the same area, creating a "shanty town." In the fall or winter when the fishing season was over, arks were often used by oystermen and hunters. By the 1920s, with better roads and automobiles, making it easy for watermen to return home during fishing trips, the use of arks dwindled.
Built: Date and place unknown Length: 12 ft, 0.5 in (3.67 m) Beam: 7 ft, 1.5 in (2.18 m)
[Caption:]
Oystermen's ark village at the mouth of the Chester River, near Rock Hall, MD, c. 1895. Photographer unknown. Courtesy of the Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore, MD.
N, 76° 13.206′ W. Marker is in St. Michaels, Maryland, in Talbot County. Marker can be reached from Mill Street east of Burns Street, on the left when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 213 North Talbot Street, Saint Michaels MD 21663, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Photographed By Devry Becker Jones (CC0), August 24, 2019
2. Fishing Shanty/Ark Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on December 28, 2019. It was originally submitted on August 26, 2019, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 155 times since then and 16 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on August 26, 2019, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
