Towns hope that John Smith trail will lead to prosperity
Many believe trail will be avenue to land preservation, tourism and access to Bay
By Rona Kobell
For Capt. John Smith, Port Deposit in 1608 was the end of the line. But for Erika Quesenbery, the explorer’s stopping place just might mark a new beginning.
Instead of “for rent” signs on forlorn buildings downtown, she envisions shops full of historic memorabilia commemorating the captain’s epic journey through the Chesapeake Bay. On the waterfront, where a sewage treatment plant now sits, she’d like to see a pavilion for waterfront concerts, a place to rent canoes and kayaks, and open space for visitors to take in a view similar to the one Smith’s crew might have seen.
Quesenbery, who has been the unofficial historian of the town she fondly calls “Port” since moving there 10 years ago, has harbored these dreams for a long time. But now, she says, they actually seem possible.
2 responses so far ↓
Bill Hughes // November 7, 2009 at 7:39 pm
I to would also like to see those ideals put in place there in Port Deposit. It’s a nice town to visit.
Mike // November 11, 2009 at 7:18 pm
Bill:
It sure has lots of stuff going for it and I’m glad to see that they’re trying to leverage their substantial history to build on the success they’ve already had.
It’s wonderful to be in that town in the evening since that built environment creates such a strong sense of place. And that’s certainly helping get all those eateries down there.
Other towns shoud leverage history more. The successful ones do.
Like gas stations in rural Texas after 10 pm, comments are closed.