Smith Island, Maryland

Smith Island, Maryland
Census-designated place

Harbor at Ewell
Nickname(s): "The Island"
Coordinates: 37°58′7″N 76°1′22″W / 37.96861°N 76.02278°W / 37.96861; -76.02278Coordinates: 37°58′7″N 76°1′22″W / 37.96861°N 76.02278°W / 37.96861; -76.02278
Country United States
State Maryland
County Somerset
Area
 • Total 9.2 sq mi (23.8 km2)
 • Land 4.5 sq mi (11.5 km2)
 • Water 4.7 sq mi (12.2 km2)
Elevation 0 ft (0 m)
Population (2000)
 • Total 364
 • Density 81.7/sq mi (31.6/km2)
Time zone Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
FIPS code 24-72887
GNIS feature ID 1852600

Smith Island is an island on the Chesapeake Bay, on the border of Maryland and Virginia territorial waters in the United States.

The island is inhabited by one of the region's oldest English-speaking communities, which is known for its relic accent, preserving speech patterns from the original English colonial settlers.

The community is located in a small town-area in the central part of the island, spread across the three inhabited locations of Ewell, Rhodes Point and Tylerton, all located in the state of Maryland. The northern part of Smith Island also includes the Martin National Wildlife Refuge. The southernmost portion of the island consisting of marsh lies in Accomack County, Virginia.

The Island has been shrinking in size for centuries, due to a combination of its low elevation and storm erosion. In the last 150 years, Smith Island has lost over 3,300 acres (13 km2) of wetlands due to erosion and post-glacial subsidence into the Chesapeake Bay. To prevent the island from being lost to erosion, restoration efforts will be ongoing for the next 50 years to restore 1,900 acres (8 km2) of submerged aquatic vegetation and 240 acres (1.0 km2) of wetlands.[1]

Smith Island has no airport and no bridges to the mainland; it can be accessed only by boat. Passenger-only ferries connect Smith Island at Ewell to Point Lookout, Maryland, and Reedville, Virginia, on the Western shore of the Chesapeake Bay (seasonal) and from Crisfield, Maryland on its Eastern Shore (year-round). A daily passenger ferry also runs between Crisfield, Maryland and the smaller island of Tylerton, Maryland.

On its Maryland side, Smith Island is a census-designated place (CDP) in Somerset County, Maryland, United States. It is included in the Salisbury, Maryland-Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Demographics

As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 364 people, 167 households, and 112 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 81.7 people per square mile (31.6/km²). There were 256 housing units at an average density of 57.5/sq mi (22.2/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 98.08% White, 0.82% African American, 0.27% Native American, and 0.82% from two or more races. 51% of Smith Island's residents were English, 4% Greek, 3% Irish, 3% Scottish, and 3% French.[3]

There were 167 households out of which 19.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.5% were married couples living together, 4.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.9% were non-families. 29.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.69.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 14.6% under the age of 18, 5.5% from 18 to 24, 22.3% from 25 to 44, 34.6% from 45 to 64, and 23.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 50 years. For every 100 females there were 95.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.8 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $26,324, and the median income for a family was $29,375. Males had a median income of $26,250 versus $28,750 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $23,996. About 14.4% of families and 22.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.9% of those under age 18 and 67.9% of those age 65 or over.

History and language

An 18-year-old male from Smith Island talking to a female interviewer about the erosion of Smith Island. (circa 1984)

British settlers arrived on the island in the 17th century, arriving from Cornwall, Wales,[4] and Dorset via Virginia.[5]

A notable feature of the island is the local dialect which is like the dialects of the West Country of England and the dialect of Cornwall. The dialect contains some relict features indicative of its origins.[6] This dialect is like the Ocracoke Brogue,[7] sometimes referred to as the Outer Banks Brogue.[8][9]

The Island Belle (vessel) was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.[10]

Smith Island Cake

Smith Island Cake with fresh strawberries on the side.

Smith Island has its own region-specific traditional cuisine. The most famous dish is a locally produced cake similar to the Prinzregententorte and featuring 8 to 15 thin layers[11] filled with creme, frosting and/or crushed candy bars. The cake is iced with a cooked chocolate icing. Beginning in the 1800s, Smith Islanders would send these cakes with the watermen on the autumn oyster harvest. The bakers began using fudge instead of buttercream frostings, as cakes frosted with fudge lasted much longer than cakes with other frostings.[12] The cake is often made using a commercial cake mix but with unique additions such as condensed milk. It can also be made from scratch using flour.[13] The most common flavor is yellow cake with chocolate icing but other flavors such as coconut, fig, strawberry, lemon, and orange are also common. Known simply as the Smith Island Cake, the dessert is baked for any occasion and not reserved only for holidays.[14] The cake is also baked as the feature prize for a local fundraising tradition called a cake walk which is a game played like musical chairs where donated cakes serve as the prize. Great attention is paid to the perfection of the pencil-thin layers that form the distinctive cake.[15] Before each round, the prize cake at stake is cut in half and shown to the players who pay to participate in the game. A poorly stacked cake may not attract many players and as a result, not raise as much money as a more perfectly executed cake.[16]

On April 24, 2008, Smith Island cake was designated as the official dessert of the state of Maryland.[17]

See also

References

  1. ↑ US Army Corps of Engineers Smith Island, Maryland Environmental Restoration and Protection Project Accessed October 11, 2007
  2. ↑ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  3. ↑ "Smith Island, MD, Ancestry & Family History". Epodunk.com. Retrieved 2015-04-16.
  4. ↑ "Claws and effect". The Daily Telegraph. London. September 13, 2005.
  5. ↑ Scheller, William G. (March 12, 2000). "Island of Calm". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2012-12-11.
  6. ↑ Do You Speak American? by Robert MacNeil, William Cran, Robert McCrum. Page 35 Random House, Inc., 2005 ISBN 0-385-51198-1
  7. ↑ The North Carolina Language and Life Project Smith Island, MD. Accessed October 11, 2007
  8. ↑ Do You Speak American? by Robert MacNeil, William Cran, Robert McCrum. Page 34 Random House, Inc., 2005 ISBN 0-385-51198-1
  9. ↑ Hoi Toide on the Outer Banks by Walt Wolfram, Natalie Schilling-Estes, Page 156, UNC Press, 1997 ISBN 0-8078-4626-0
  10. ↑ National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  11. ↑ Adventure Guide to the Chesapeake Bay by Barbara Radcliffe Rogers, Stillman Rogers page 435 Hunter Publishing, Inc, 2001 ISBN 1-55650-889-1
  12. ↑ smithislandcake.com The story behind our Smith Island Cakes. Accessed July 6, 2012.
  13. ↑ Crisfield & Smith Island Cultural Alliance, Inc. Smith island Cake
  14. ↑ SMITH ISLAND LAYER CAKE from Maryland Traditions
  15. ↑ smith island cake history from Original Smith Island Cake Company Website. Accessed October, 3o, 2011.
  16. ↑ An Island Out of Time: A Memoir of Smith Island in the Chesapeake by Tom Horton, Page 10 W. W. Norton & Company, 1996 ISBN 0-393-03938-2
  17. ↑ Smith Island Cake Now Maryland's Official Dessert from NewsChannel 8 1:38 pm Thu April 24, 2008 - ANNAPOLIS, Md. Accessed online April 26, 2008
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Smith Island.
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