A Special Island Unto Themselves

Wary Bay Community Thinks Private Makes More Perfect

The end of the road to Gibson Island is where the mystery begins.

The signs dot Maryland Route 177, Mountain Road, in Anne Arundel County: "NOTICE. ROAD ENDS. NO OUTLET." Thick tangles of winterberry and spicebush soon give way to panoramic vistas of the Chesapeake Bay, and for most of us, the road does end.

For Gibson Island's 600 residents, the road home is just beginning. Their vehicles glide past the guard post and disappear on a causeway curving over water toward the cloistered and exclusive 2 1/2 -by-1 1/4 -mile island. Blustery breezes sweep the protected Magothy Narrows harbor to the north, where the boats of the Gibson Island Yacht Squadron ride silently at anchor.

It looks like heaven, and like heaven, you can't visit unless you live there.

Privately incorporated Gibson Island sits in the Chesapeake Bay 45 miles from the Capitol. It's one of the region's wealthiest places: It was ranked 14th on a Forbes magazine list of America's 150 priciest Zip codes, topping No. 15 Beverly Hills 90210 -- and far above any other Zip code in the region.

Outsiders generally aren't welcome, and many of the intensely private residents are reluctant to discuss their neighborhood.

Not all, though. "I've always felt that it doesn't hurt to talk about the island," said resident Charles W. "Pete" Shaeffer Jr. "Some people don't agree with that, but it takes a lot of the mystery out of it."

Still, Shaeffer admits, when asked where he lives, "We just say 'Down Mountain Road.' We don't say 'Gibson Island' because some people have a negative reaction to that. They view the community as being full of rich, pampered people. And I don't think that's an accurate characterization. I can tell you, these are mostly hardworking people."

Shaeffer, a resident since 1973, is a former president of Gibson Island Corp., essentially a small-town government with its own fire engine, specially commissioned police force and round-the-clock gate keepers. Seventy percent of the island is undeveloped hardwood forest owned by the corporation (each homeowner receives shares).

The island's startling natural beauty is preserved by the secluded placement of its 200 homes, which are nestled deeply in tall stands of oak and red maples and separated by misty swaths of marsh. On approach from the causeway, the effect is that of uninhabited wilderness.

Most of the houses sit bay-front on the island's east side, or at the south end, where Mountain Bar Point juts out like a horseshoe crab's tail. Residents delight in the point's white-sand beach. The homes at the island's south side are surrounded by 10 to 12 acres of grounds; most other lots are smaller.

And it's a bird sanctuary, so historically cats have been banned. The few that sneaked in are referred to -- with a wink -- as "Gibson Island squirrels."