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Steamboats on the Chesapeake is a new documentary that explores the economic and social impact of steamboats on the Chespeake Bay and her tributaries from 1813 to 1962. Listen to remembrances from those who lived during this era and to those who are dete
A new film about the history of Chesapeake Bay steamboats will screen at Compass in Kilmarnock on Wednesday, December 10, at 3 p.m., and Thursday, December 11, at 7 p.m.
The film, “Steamboats on the Chesapeake,” produced by Mark Huffman of 26th Street Media, will benefit the Kilmarnock Museum and the Steamboat Era Museum in Irvington. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased from the Kilmarnock Museum (804-296-0930) and the Steamboat Era Museum (804-438-6888).
Production began in November 2024 and includes an interview with Jack Shaum, of Chestertown, Md., the author of three books about Chesapeake steamers, as well as a number of local and area residents. The film traces the history of Chesapeake Bay steamboats from their beginning in 1813 to the end of service in 1962.
During that time, the boats transformed a region, creating communities and canning factories in many coastal villages. Where there was a wharf, there was usually a general store, a tomato canning factory and a fish packing plant.
When a steamer from Baltimore tied up at a rural wharf, it unloaded manufactured goods to be sold in the general store. On the return to Baltimore, boats stopped to pick up agricultural products and livestock to be sold at markets in the city.
The boats also provided easy transportation from the country to the cities, allowing local residents to get to Baltimore in hours rather than days.
“As far as this region is concerned, the steamboat era was to the 19th century what the internet is to the present day,” Huffman said. “It changed everything.”
Shaum has a vast collection of steamboat images and memorabilia and recounts his first voyage as an eight-year-old, an experience that ignited a lifelong passion for steamboat history – something he says is in danger.
“I really am concerned that the steamboat era is in danger of being forgotten,” Shaum said in the documentary. “But yet, it was so doggone important to the development of the Tidewater region.”
However, significant local efforts have been made to preserve that history. The Steamboat Era Museum has carefully restored the pilot house of the steamboat Potomac, which is the centerpiece of the museum.
The film also includes coverage of Saunders Wharf, on the Rappahannock River in Essex County, the last surviving steamboat wharf in the Chesapeake Watershed. Though not open to the public, 26th Street Media was granted access to film it, providing the public a rate glimpse of Chesapeake Bay history.
Teddy Bance owns the property with his brother Peter – the seventh generation in their family to own the wharf. Teddy Bance credits his grandfather’s efforts for its preservation, noting he constantly repaired the roof and added new pilings underneath. “It survived because someone cared about it,” Bance said.
