Time hasn't tampered much with Galesville during the past century and a half.

The busy West River Market has been a community crossroads for 140 years. Members of the Hartge family have built and repaired boats at Hartge's Yacht Yard since it opened in 1865. And residents have gathered for meetings and celebrations at Memorial Hall since 1914.

Residents of this enclave on the West River in Southern Anne Arundel County cherish its small-town ways, and respect its 350-year history as an early Quaker meeting site, a thriving watermen's community and a Revolutionary War battleground.

So when Nick Bassford, who runs an Annapolis seafood business, bought three high-profile concerns in town this year -- two of Galesville's three restaurants and an ice-making business -- he raised eyebrows.

"I don't know if the locals have been suspicious, but there certainly has been curiosity about why anyone would want to buy two restaurants within a block of each other in a town of 600 people," said Laura Dixon, an owner of River Gallery on Main Street. "It's just curious."

To some, it seemed as if he had bought Galesville.

Bassford says there is nothing suspicious about his acquisitions -- Steamboat Landing and Topside Inn restaurants and Woodfield Ice House, which he plans to renovate and open next year as his fifth retail seafood market. He says the purchases are the first step in his plan to bring off-the-boat fresh seafood to Galesville's diners. Combined with the area's natural beauty, he sees it as a can't-miss opportunity.

'Diamond in the rough'

"It's a work in progress and it's going to take me a while to get my arms around it, and take what I think is a diamond in the rough and turn it into more of a dining pleasure," said Bassford, who owns four Annapolis Seafood Market stores and a restaurant in Bowie, and employs about 450 people. He envisions Galesville becoming a day-trip destination, such as St. Michaels on the Eastern Shore.

"Annapolis is pretty well built out, and people are going to be looking for places to take a drive, relax and have a wonderful meal," said Bassford, who paid $2.9 million for the three businesses and one property adjacent to Topside Inn, according to state land records.

Dixon has heard talk about St. Michaels before, and it makes her nervous.

"People come down here all the time and say, 'You could turn this into a St. Michaels,'" she said. "And I say, 'Why don't you keep St. Michaels where it is? I think Galesville makes a perfectly lovely Galesville.'"

Susan Ulrich, who owns West River Market, said Bassford's plans seem to be positive, but that she has heard some of her customers complain about the closing of the boat ramp at Woodfield's for parking. For people who don't rent marina slips, the ramp was the only place in town where they could put a boat in the water.

Others say they are encouraged by Bassford's ideas, saying they make sense for Galesville.

"Tourism is a major factor here," said Peter Oleson, president of the West River Improvement Association. "I don't think it will ever be a St. Michaels. It's not that big and not that commercial. ... There's not a lot of room to expand."

"I hear he's a very fine businessman and look forward to him being a part of our community," said Roberta Cassard, president of the Galesville Heritage Society.

Unlike some South County towns on the Chesapeake Bay, where small cottage-style homes were built at the turn of the century as summer getaways for Baltimore and Washington residents, Galesville was developed as a year-round community.

"I'm 76 and am living in the house I was born in," said Jean Trott, author of Galesville, Maryland: The Legend, The Legacy. "At one point in time practically everybody in Galesville was related. Of course, that has changed now, with the sale of property as the older generations have passed away and younger people have gotten jobs elsewhere."

Galesville is home to many who commute to work in Baltimore or Washington, as well as a weekend destination for people who keep their boats at local marinas.

"It's amazing how much traffic there is for a little place that's no bigger than Galesville," Trott said. "Cars are coming in and going out constantly. Somebody must like it."

'Working-class' charm

Dixon fears that too many people might flock to Galesville, making it unrecognizable to longtime residents. "I'm concerned about the environment, and I'm concerned about grand homes making it impossible for us to live here," she said, referring to expensive custom-built homes that have sprung up in the surrounding area in recent years. "I'd like for Galesville to be able to maintain its working-class families. That's its history and what gives it charm."

Bassford says he saw the natural appeal of Galesville when he focused on the village to expand his seafood business.

"When you drive down there, you sort of get the feeling, 'What's going on here?' It's beautiful, it's so different -- how does it stay like this?" Bassford said.

But coming into a close-knit, small town from the outside can be tricky -- as he saw when he spoke about his intentions at a community meeting several months ago.

"It was hospitable, but sort of 'What the heck are you doing?' and 'Don't change things,'" Bassford said.

One of Bassford's first moves was to bring in a management team for his properties.

Nothing changed at Topside Inn for the first three months, but in March, after getting a sense of diners' tastes, Mike Winters -- who oversees operations at Topside Inn and Steamboat Landing -- decided to do some tweaking. He removed lamb chops from the menu and stopped serving breakfast.

"Everybody was all upset," he said. "We also changed the music, let one of the acts go, and that caused feathers to be ruffled."

Regulars seem to be adjusting, but Winters understands the initial concerns.

"It worries people," he said of Bassford's entry into town. "They don't want anybody to have a monopoly, but it's not anywhere near a hostile takeover."

After closing Steamboat Landing in January for renovations and an overhaul of the menu, the restaurant, which sits on a pier in the West River, reopened last month. The previous owners' French entrees were gone, replaced by steamed crabs and other seafood dishes at lower prices.

Business is good at the restaurant, which has changed hands about three times in the past 10 years.

"I have to say that Steamboat Landing seems to have more customers, at least," Dixon said.

'Nice opportunity'

Bassford sees Woodfield Ice House as the linchpin in his Galesville venture. Founded as Woodfield Fish and Oyster Co. in 1917, the business once processed 1,000 gallons of oysters a day, shipping them across the country. The company began selling ice in the 1930s and over the years nearly phased out its seafood business because of the decline in Chesapeake Bay oysters.

Bassford's new seafood market at the Woodfield facility will sell the catches of South County fishermen and local produce. He said Woodfield is the only buying station for watermen on Maryland's Western Shore, and some of that seafood is making its way to Topside Inn and Steamboat Landing.

"I think it's a very nice opportunity for both watermen, and us as retailers, for getting fresh catches from the Chesapeake onto our shelves and in our restaurants," Bassford said.

If more changes are planned for Galesville, one tradition will most likely remain intact -- Dixieland music at Topside Inn on July 4. Winters, the general manager, has been warned not to meddle with it.

"I got a call saying, 'You are going to have them playing outside on the upper deck on the Fourth of July, aren't you?'" he said. "I'm not going to be the one that changes that."