On the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay, the town of North Beach epitomizes “land of pleasant living.” Its seven-block waterfront has a public fishing pier and a half-mile-long boardwalk with accompanying bike path. The boardwalk is dotted with benches on which residents and visitors may linger and watch the Bay. The town encompasses a wildlife refuge in its tidal marshlands where native species make their homes and seasonal migrants find a welcome place to rest.

Socially and culturally, North Beach has a rich and diverse history. Originally platted in 1900, the town provided an ideal site for the vacation cottages of part-time residents from nearby Washington and Baltimore, but it also served well as the home of working watermen. When the Bay Bridge opened in 1955 bringing easier access to Atlantic Ocean resorts, summer crowds at the western shore getaways soon dissipated. The end of legalized gambling was the final blow that ended the heyday of North Beach as a rollicking resort.

Following that period of decline, recent years have produced a rebirth of civic pride and a burgeoning sense of community. Old buildings have been removed, houses refurbished, and flower beds coaxed into bloom. Plans are underway for a museum and environmental education center, a senior citizens’ apartment complex, and a primary care medical facility. Visitors flock to North Beach in June for the North Beach House and Garden Tour and in August for the town’s annual Bay Fest. Antique stores attract shoppers while beachcombers delight in the search for sharks’ teeth fossils. Mother Nature is the town’s greatest asset.

Today’s population is composed primarily of year-round residents who know they have found the best of all worlds: a safe, friendly, walk-around town away from the congestion and hassle of the city; a place where government wears the face of one’s neighbor and every resident can keep a finger on its pulse. Citizenship is alive and well in this jewel of a town on the Chesapeake Bay.