St. Michaels in Talbot County, Maryland — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

Bell Tower at Tolchester Beach Wharf

— Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum —

Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), October 5, 2025

1. Bell Tower at Tolchester Beach Wharf Marker

Inscription.
Throngs of day trippers traveled to Tolchester Beach and its amusement park from Baltimore beginning in the 1870s, with six steamboats and a ferry servicing the resort. They disembarked from the steamboats at the end of a long, wooden pier.

In 1930, the Lighthouse Service erected a white skeleton tower light station on the Tolchester pier. Six years later this fog bell was added. The bell is visible on middle of the white tower in the center of this July 1943 photograph. After Tolchester Beach closed in the early 1960s, the wharf and its light and bell signal fell into disuse and were removed.

Erected by Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Communications • Parks & Recreational Areas • Waterways & Vessels. In addition, it is included in the Historic Bells, and the Lighthouses series lists. A significant historical month for this entry is July 1943.

Location. 38° 47.322′ N, 76° 13.274′ W. Marker is in St. Michaels, Maryland, in Talbot County. It can be reached from the intersection of North Talbot Street and Dodson Avenue, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 213 N Talbot St, Saint Michaels MD 21663, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is on the Eastern Shore.

It is also in the American Mid-Atlantic,

on the Delmarva Peninsula,

in the Tidewater,

and in the Chesapeake Bay Region.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once one of the original Thirteen Colonies

and also the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other

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markers are within walking distance of this marker: Heard Through the Fog (here, next to this marker); A Light Survivor (here, next to this marker); Last Bell Foundry (here, next to this marker); Hooper Straight Light's Twin (a few steps from this marker); Katie G., Deadrise Workboat (a few steps from this marker); Mystery Shipwreck (within shouting distance of this marker); Freedom's Figurehead (within shouting distance of this marker); Tools of the Oystermen (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in St. Michaels.

Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), October 5, 2025

2. Bell Tower at Tolchester Beach Wharf Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on October 5, 2025. It was originally submitted on October 5, 2025, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 49 times since then and 24 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on October 5, 2025, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.