Historical Information & Maritime Facts About Chesapeake Bay |
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Chesapeake Bay is still developing in terms of geology, ecology, economy, and culture. It was the rising waters of melting glaciers of Pleistocene age that reached the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay 10,000 years ago. Sea levels continued to rise, drowning a series of river beds, until the present Bay emerged 3000 years back.
Spanish explorer Vicente Gonzalez entered the Chesapeake Bay region in 1561. In 1605, the French set up a colony at Port Royal now known as Annapolis. In 1607, the Jamestown settlement was established on the James River. Captain John Smith was the first Europeanto thoroughly explore and map the Chesapeake Bay. It was in 1634 that Lord Baltimore established the first English colony in Maryland, known as St. Mary's City. Subsequent to these early explorations and settlements Chesapeake Bay has had a variegated maritime history. Bay waters have been traveled by all manner of ships throughout the ages, often specifically designed or modified to sail Chesapeake's shallow waters. The first light house built by the United States was built in 1792 at Cape Henry, marking the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay. |