Smith Island, Maryland

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Smith Island is a census-designated place (CDP) in Somerset County, Maryland, United States. It is Maryland's only inhabited off-shore island in the Chesapeake Bay, and its population was 364 at the 2000 census.

In the last 150 years, Smith Island has lost over 3300 acres of wetlands due to erosion into the Chesapeake Bay. To prevent the island from being lost to erosion, restoration efforts will be ongoing for the next 50 years to restore 1900 acres of submerged aquatic vegetation and 240 acres of wetlands. [1]

People traveling to Smith Island can only access it by boat. Passenger-only ferries connect Smith Island to Point Lookout, Maryland, to the west, and Crisfield, Maryland, to the east. Tourists arriving by ferry can sleep in a guest house and enjoy seafood meals. The most notable feature of the island is the local dialect (said to be similar to early Elizabethan English), although visitors are also charmed by the islanders' hardy fishing livelihood and devotion to the Methodist church. One visitor, the author William Least Heat-Moon, described his conversations with islanders in his best-selling book Blue Highways.

[edit] Geography

Smith Island is located at 37°58′7″N, 76°1′22″W (37.968632, -76.022849)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 23.8 km² (9.2 mi²). 11.5 km² (4.4 mi²) of it is land and 12.2 km² (4.7 mi²) of it (51.42%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

The Island (actually there are several islands) are predominately low, salt marsh with an elevation of less than four feet. There are three communities: Ewell and Rhodes Point - connected by a one-mile long single lane road - and Tylerton, accessible only by boat. As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 364 people, 167 households, and 112 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 31.6/km² (81.7/mi²). There were 256 housing units at an average density of 22.2/km² (57.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 98.08% White, 0.82% African American, 0.27% Native American, and 0.82% from two or more races.

There were 167 households out of which 19.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.5% were married couples living together, 4.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.9% were non-families. 29.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.69.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 14.6% under the age of 18, 5.5% from 18 to 24, 22.3% from 25 to 44, 34.6% from 45 to 64, and 23.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 50 years. For every 100 females there were 95.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.8 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $26,324, and the median income for a family was $29,375. Males had a median income of $26,250 versus $28,750 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $23,996. About 14.4% of families and 22.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.9% of those under age 18 and 67.9% of those age 65 or over.