The Maritime Republic of Eastport

Eastport has always boasted a proud history. Lafayette's troops camped here on their way to defeat the British at Yorktown in 1781. In 1776, Fort Horn was built, protecting the harbor from invasion by the British fleets during the Revolutionary War and again during the War of 1812. The town of Eastport was established in 1868 and annexed into the City of Annapolis in 1951. Eastport continued to wallow under the shadow of Annapolis proper until the uprising on Independence Day, Sunday, Jan. 25, 1998.

Today it is an upscale bedroom community that has been ‘reborn’ with homes of the past. It is composed of a peninsula, surrounded by water on three sides and connected to Annapolis by a draw bridge that permits stately yachts and pleasure boats to compete for the roadway with automobiles. Eastport is a more laid-back community than Annapolis, although Annapolis itself is an oasis from the stressful, fast-paced life in the large cities of Washington, DC and Baltimore, MD that surround it. Formerly a community of people who worked and toiled to support the people of Annapolis, it was a blue-collar town compared to the aristocrats that populated Annapolis. Today, they exist side-by-side in a nautical environment of peace and contentment, where nothing outside of the community is so important that it interferes with the family and community activities found in this, “city by the bay.” A wonderful place to raise a family and to call home!

Like any great movement, the concept for the Maritime Republic of Eastport began in a local pub over a couple mugs of beer. The prime mission was to find a creative way to promote and encourage the patronage of Eastport businesses that were destined to be hurt by the Maryland State Highway Administration's shutting down for repair of the drawbridge connecting mainland Annapolis with the Eastport peninsula. The citizens of Eastport took advantage of their isolation to sever their social, political and economic ties as well.

The goal was to foster a spirit of independence and merriment in a manner befitting the character of Eastport and at the same time, to celebrate Eastport's proud heritage and quality of life.

So, the Maritime Republic of Eastport was founded on Super Bowl Sunday, 1998, when patriots residing on the Horn Point peninsula rose up in revolt against the snobbish suppression of "Annapolis Proper" across the harbor.

Since that time, MRE has become a force in the community, doing good for the community and having fun at the same time. MRE meetings and activities are open to all.

BOUNDARIES: Spa Creek to the north, Back Creek to the south, the Chesapeake Bay to the east. The western boundary runs from the source of Spa Creek back across to Back Creek, but some wannabe Eastporters--or their real estate agents--claim it ends farther west, at Forest Drive.

NUMBER OF HOUSES: About 800.

PROPERTY SALES: In 1998, 52 houses were sold, from $75,000 for a row house to $749,500 for a detached house. This year through April, 15 houses have sold, from $175,000 to $639,900.

SCHOOLS: Eastport Elementary School, Annapolis Sailing School.

WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE: Eastport shops, Annapolis, including the U.S. Naval Academy, city dock, state house.