HISTORY
This unique 1320 acre waterfront park in Maryland includes more than 6 miles of shoreline along the Chesapeake Bay, Back River, and Shallow Creek. North Point also boasts several wetland areas including a large bayside marsh known as Black Marsh. Black Marsh is considered to be one of the finest examples of a tidal marsh on the
Upper Chesapeake.
The North Point property has been continuously farmed for almost 350 years, with evidence of human occupation dating back 9000 years. During the War of 1812, the North Point area was the site of skirmishes between local colonists and British troops invading Baltimore from the Southeastern flank. The route to Baltimore passed through the present day park and is known today as the "Defender's Trail".
During the first half of the twentieth century, a small part of the park was the site of an impressive amusement park. Bay Shore Amusement Park, built in 1906, was in its heyday a bustling and attractive park offering recreation and relaxation on the Chesapeake Bay in a setting of gardens, pathways, and Edwardian architecture. The park included a dance hall, a bowling alley, a restaurant, and a pier jutting out into the bay. Bay Shore Park was accessible by trolley from Baltimore, and was probably the premier facility of its kind ever located on the Bay.
Bay Shore Park was demolished in the 1940's when Bethlehem Steel bought the land. The property was acquired by the MD Department of Natural Resources in 1987 to provide resource protection and limited access to the bay. Once acquired, the park was renamed Black Marsh State Park, but that was later changed to its current name -- North Point State Park.
Click on the links below to learn more about a specific part of the park.
