Rock Hall may be one of the state's few tourist destinations where glossy, color brochures proclaim, "Transients Welcome."
In Rock Hall, a Chesapeake Bay community of 1,600, the transients being wooed are recreational boaters. In a town where the number of boat slips almost equals the number of full-time residents, boaters -- transient or otherwise -- are always welcome.
With a sheltered harbor within easy sailing distance of Baltimore, Annapolis, St. Michael's and other popular destinations and 12 commercial marinas in and around the town, boating has become the town's leading industry. But gaining that position didn't come without controversy.
Starting 10 years ago, the tiny Kent County town split into camps: "no-growthers" against "pro-growthers," "old-timers" against "newcomers," and recreational boaters against watermen. To say it was hostile for several years, says Mayor Rosalie Kuechler, is "putting it mildly."
Last year, the battle came to a head over a proposed noise ordinance that would have fined boaters $100 for a first offense and $200 for a second offense if they couldn't keep sailboat halyards from clanging against the aluminum masts of their docked boats.
The ordinance, which might have been the most stringent in the country if passed, was defeated. But not before tempers flared and battle lines were drawn among some residents.
"Rock Hall has always been a waterman's community," says Danny Elburn, who has the unique perspective of being both a waterman and part-owner of a marina. "But things had to change here. We couldn't survive the way we were. But some people, well, let's just say they'd like to go back to the horse and buggy."
Born and raised in Rock Hall, Mr. Elburn -- the son, grandson and great-grandson of watermen -- dropped out of high school at 16 to start working the water 10 hours a day, six or seven days a week. Fishing, crabbing, oystering and clamming are in his blood, he says.
Yet, he and his wife, Rita, believe their part-ownership of the 50-slip Pelorus Marina will secure their future, even though Mr. Elburn still works the water year-round.
"Don't get me wrong, I don't mean to say the waterman's days are gone. I still think the water business is alive and well in Rock Hall," says Mr. Elburn, sitting in his second-floor office at the marina, overlooking docks dotted with sailboats and working boats. But, he adds: The industry is less active than it once was; and with the loss of manufacturing jobs in the area, boating and tourism have become necessary to keep the town going.
Thelma "Lori" Campbell, a town council member and Rock Hall native, agrees. A year ago, she and her husband became part-owners of the 140-slip North Point Marina, created by combining and renovating two smaller marinas.
"Absolutely, we need this growth . . . . The only viable economy of the town is tourism and boating," she says. "The people who don't want it are all retired. I'm not retired. I'm still here trying to make a living."
Although the town's year-round population has remained almost constant for more than a decade, its population now doubles and even triples during the busiest weekends in the summer.
Two new residential developments are planned -- 111 new duplexes and single-family homes on 40 acres adjacent to Rock Hall Landing Marina and about 60 new homes on 12 acres near the edge of town.
The new homes in both developments, priced between $85,000 and $135,000, are likely to attract new families and retirees, adding to the tax base, says Stan Grim, general manager of Rock Hall Landing.
Only one square mile in size, the town has five or six main thoroughfares, with many of the 800 or so homes built on cul-de-sacs with waterfront or water-view property. Some new "summer homes" valued as high as $500,000 have been built in the area in recent years on waterfront property, says real estate agent and Rock Hall native Honey Wood. Luxury townhouses built five to seven years ago sell for $200,000 or more.
But most houses in town are three-bedroom bungalows, Cape Cods and ranchers built in the 1940s and 1950s, which sell for $70,000 to $190,000, she says.
Surrounded on three sides by water, Rock Hall has always depended on the bay. Although the town was founded in 1707, local historians say it started serving as a port decades earlier. A brochure for the town states: "George Washington, James Madison and Thomas Jefferson traveled through Rock Hall often."
Audrey Johnson, known to all as "Miss Audrey," walks proudly through the town's two-room museum -- staffed by volunteers -- and describes key exhibits detailing her adopted town's proud history.
Among large hunks of quartz and amethyst, models of boats, old clothing and other knickknacks are monuments to "famous" residents -- Martin Wagner, the town's metal forger who lived to be 100; Bill "Swish" Nicholson, who played with the Phillies and Cubs in the 1960s; Mary Hogans Beekman, the "youngest woman ever to enlist in the U.S. Army."
Small-town atmosphere
Many residents say Rock Hall's charm lies in its small-town atmosphere.
"It's the people," says the former Rock Hall Elementary School teacher, who moved here with her husband in the 1940s. "If you get in trouble, the people will come to you."
Rock Hall's three-block "down-town" on South Main Street certainly has that small town feel. Residents patronize the hair salon, video stores, old-fashioned drugstore and K Foods supermarket. Several specialty and novelty stores have opened up to cater to tourists.
The town's municipal building two blocks away houses most town facilities, including the mayor's and town council's offices, meeting rooms, library, museum and Head Start program. Rock Hall's only doctor had offices in the building until he passed away two years ago. Since then, the town has had to make do without one.
Residents travel to Chestertown, the county seat, 13 miles away for medical care and other services, such as those provided by department stores and a dry cleaner.
Businesses not year-round
Despite the development of two marinas and a slow, but steady, increase in tourism, the town still cannot support all of its businesses year-round. Some of its most popular restaurants, like the 350-seat Waterman's Crab House, close for two or three months during the winter. And the town's ferry service to Baltimore was dropped last year for lack of riders.
"I ran the local grocery store for a while," says Tom Bass, a retired Army officer who has lived in Rock Hall for 33 years and now serves on the council. "You have to make your money from April to November or forget it."
Some Rock Hall natives concede their offspring have been unable to find jobs in town or nearby, even though they would have liked to return to their hometown after college. Many have moved away. Others have come back but commute an hour or more into Annapolis, Easton, Wilmington, Del., or elsewhere to find work.
Still, most Rock Hallers feel optimistic about the town's future.
Hard feelings over the growth controversy have diminished, many say. And the expanded and new marinas have brought new jobs.
Mr. Grim, a part-owner of the Waterman's Crab House, says the expansion of the restaurant and the addition of a small motel and villas to Rock Hall Landing have created 100 new jobs at the complex.
"I think these developments have been good for Rock Hall," he says. "We have to look to the future . . . . You have to ask yourself, 'What would happen to the town otherwise?' "
ROCK HALL
Population: 1,584 (1990 census)
Commuting time to downtown Baltimore: 2 hours
Commuting time to Washington: 1 hour, 45 minutes
Public schools: Rock Hall Elementary; Rock Hall Middle; Kent County High School (15 miles away in Worton)
Shopping: Main Street, with K Foods supermarket, drugstore, video store and other shops and services; in Chestertown (13 miles away), Rose's, Peebles Department Store and other stores and services.
Nearest mall: the Dover Mall in Dover, Del., 50 miles away or the Easton Mall, in Easton, also about 50 miles.
Points of interest: 12 commercial marinas in and around town; the Rock Hall Museum in the municipal building; the Waterman's Museum, the Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge; Remington Farms, a wildlife refuge operated by Remington Firearms; St. Paul's Episcopal Church, outside town, with the grave of the actress Tallulah Bankhead in the church cemetery.
Average price of single-family home*: $113,000 (27 sales)
ZIP code: 21661
Average price of homes sold through the Mid-Atlantic Real Estate Information Technologies multiple listing service in 1994.