Havre de Grace, MD

In 1789, the nation was considering two towns for our permanent nation's capital: Washington and Havre de Grace. The House of Representatives vote ended in a tie, with the very first Speaker of the House, Fredric Muhlenberg, casting the deciding vote in favor of Washington. With that, Havre de Grace turned to life as a "river city" along the mighty Susquehanna River. Like many Chesapeake towns, Havre de Grace traces its roots to the Bay's 1608 exploration by Capt. John Smith. It took 174 more years before the French Revolutionary Marquis de Lafayette, noting that a proposal had been floated to build a city here, suggested "Havre de Grace," or "Harbor of Mercy," a nod to the French town of Le Havre.

In recent years, the city has reinvented itself as a destination for boaters and tourists. Victorian homes line the waterfront where the wooden boardwalk, called The Promenade, stretches along 0.75 mile of Susquehanna riverfront. If you are visiting at the end of September, be sure to attend the annual Havre de Grace Art Show.

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Marinas & Dockage Around Havre de Grace, MD

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Tidewater Marina

Havre De Grace, MD

(18)

Havre de Grace Marina

Havre De Grace, MD

(2)

Log Pond Marina

Havre de Grace, MD

(10)

Navigation Alerts Around Havre de Grace, MD

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MD: Susquehanna River, US 40 Bridge, Reduced Vertical Clearance

Lat / Lon: S 76° 05.421', E 39° 33.557'

MD: Susquehanna River Channel, Lighted Buoy 14 Missing

Lat / Lon: S 76° 05.045', E 39° 31.116'

MD: Sassafras River, Fish Trap

Lat / Lon: S 76° 02.586', E 39° 23.184'

Anchorages Around Havre de Grace, MD

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Havre de Grace

Lat / Lon: S 76° 05.016', E 39° 32.755'

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Cara Cove

Lat / Lon: S 75° 58.233', E 39° 32.167'

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North East River

Lat / Lon: S 75° 57.120', E 39° 35.203'

(1)

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Boating Destinations near Havre de Grace, MD

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Dutch mapmaker Augustine Herrman first suggested building a canal across the top of the Delmarva Peninsula in the 17th century. By the 1760s, surveyors were scouting routes. Construction of the current canal began in 1824, and it opened in 1829. The route cuts 300 miles off the maritime route from Baltimore to Philadelphia.

A stop in historic Chesapeake City means you've made it halfway through the 14-mile-long C&D Canal, which bisects the town. Ship watching on the third busiest canal in the world is the favored pastime; waterfront bars and restaurants along the promenade encourage this practice. Huge ships clear the 140-foot high Chesapeake City Bridge with awe-inspiring ease. The constant parade of ships and boats–from international cargo ships, working tugboats and barges, and fabulous mega-yachts to sailboats and classic tall ships–provides incredible photo-ops.

If you have bikes on board, another way to see the canal is via the 30-mile C&D Canal Bike Trail, which runs along the north side of the canal from Chesapeake City to Delaware City. The south side of the canal is home to the South Chesapeake City Historic District along George Street, a tiny jewel box of early 19th century Victorian homes built during canal construction.

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What's Nearby

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