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Proposed Trail of Capt. Smith's Bay Path, as He Saw It
Capt. John Smith sailed along the Potomac and Patuxent rivers and other tributaries of the Chesapeake, above.
(By Ricky Carioti -- The Washington Post)
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The chairman emeritus of the Conservation Fund, Patrick F. Noonan, told a House committee this fall that the first three buoys could be set up this spring in Jamestown, the Potomac River and the northern bay.
Beyond that, planners say, the trail will cause few physical changes and cost relatively little.
"The beauty of the water trail idea is that these are public waters, so we don't have the cost," Noonan said in an interview.
Still, even without major construction plans, the trail is expected to cost about $2 million between 2007 and 2011, according to its backers. About $400,000 of that would be spent on the initial planning, and $500,000 a year would be needed for operating it after 2009. All of that would be paid for by the National Park Service.
Officials in the various counties along the bay and its tributaries hope that the trail would bring tourists to shop, sail, eat and stay overnight.
In August, Calvert County officials launched efforts to capitalize on the tourism and attention a planned reenactment of Smith's historic journey could bring.
Calvert will be featured in at least two extended stops during a reenactment of Smith's travels of 1607 to 1609. A group of 14 historians, naturalists and educators will retrace Smith's route along the Chesapeake and its tributaries. Using only oars and a sail on a shallop (a 30-foot open boat) that is a replica of Smith's Discovery Barge, the group's main goal will be to educate people along the way.
Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum on the Patuxent River will be one of two stops in Calvert. The museum began construction last year on an Indian village that will depict the way area tribes lived centuries ago. Smith documented more than 200 Native American villages during his travels.
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