Mallows Bay is a small bay on the

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

side of the

Potomac River The Potomac River () is in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and flows from the Potomac Highlands in West Virginia to Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography D ...

Charles County, Maryland Charles County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 166,617. The county seat is La Plata. The county was named for Charles Calvert (1637–1715), third Baron Baltimore. T ...

, United States. The bay is the location of what is regarded as the "largest

shipwreck A shipwreck is the wreckage of a ship that is located either beached on land or sunken to the bottom of a body of water. It results from the event of ''shipwrecking'', which may be intentional or unintentional. There were approximately thre ...

fleet in the

Western Hemisphere The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the Prime Meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and east of the 180th meridian.- The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere. Geopolitically, ...

" and is described as a "ship graveyard." Mallows Bay is in the northeast corner of the Mallows Bay–Potomac River National Marine Sanctuary, which the

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA ) is an American scientific and regulatory agency charged with Weather forecasting, forecasting weather, monitoring oceanic and atmospheric conditions, Hydrography, charting the seas, ...

designated on September 3, 2019. The bay lies in the northeast corner of the of Potomac River waters included in the sanctuary.

Ghost fleet

The "Ghost Fleet" of Mallows Bay is a reference to the hundreds of ships whose remains still rest in its relatively shallow waters. In total, 230 United States Shipping Board Merchant Fleet Corporation ships are sunken in the river. More than 100 of the vessels are wooden

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

s, part of a fleet built to cross the Atlantic during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Because they were built of wood due to a lack of available steel, most of these ships were obsolete upon completion after the end of the war. The U.S. Navy did not want the ships, which were stored in the

James River The James River is a river in Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows from the confluence of the Cowpasture and Jackson Rivers in Botetourt County U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowli ...

– at the cost of $50,000 a month – so they were sold to the Western Marine & Salvage Company. The company moved the ships to the Potomac River at Widewater, Virginia and in 1925, they were towed to Mallows Bay. Western Marine went bankrupt and the ships were burned and remained where they lay. During World War II,

Bethlehem Steel The Bethlehem Steel Corporation was an American steelmaking company headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Until its closure in 2003, it was one of the world's largest steel-producing and shipbuilding companies. At the height of its success ...

built a salvage basin to recover metal from the abandoned ships. Wrecks of various civilian boats are also present at the site. Access to the ships is through Mallows Bay Park, operated by the county, located at 1440 Wilson Landing Road in Nanjemoy, Maryland. A trail loops around the park and the salvage basin. In 2010, a boat ramp and pier for recreational use was constructed to provide access to the Potomac River. It is popular to

canoe A canoe is a lightweight, narrow watercraft, water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using paddles. In British English, the term ' ...

kayak ] A kayak is a small, narrow human-powered watercraft typically propelled by means of a long, double-bladed paddle. The word ''kayak'' originates from the Inuktitut word '' qajaq'' (). In British English, the kayak is also considered to be ...

among the ship ruins; the ships form a

reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral, or similar relatively stable material lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic component, abiotic (non-living) processes such as deposition (geol ...

that hosts an array of wildlife. The bay was listed as an archaeological and historic district on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

on April 24, 2015, and was included in the Mallows Bay–Potomac River National Marine Sanctuary on September 3, 2019. Among the most prominent ships seen at Mallows Bay is the S.S. ''Accomac''.

Gallery

File:Maryland - Little Falls through Mallows Bay crop.jpg, Aerial photograph 1936. Mallows Bay on Potomac River below Quantico and between Sandy Point and Liverpool Point. ( Full image) File:Mallows Bay Park Feb 20, 2017, 11-37 AM edit (32820786620).jpg, Valuable maritime heritage File:Mallows Bay Park Feb 20, 2017, 10-46 AM edit (33138058115).jpg, Almost submerged shipwrecks, February 2017 File:Mallows Bay shoreline.PNG, Aerial view of the shoreline of Mallows Bay looking toward the File:Mallows Bay-Potomac River NMS water quality buoy map.PNG, Overhead photo of Mallows Bay indicating the location of a

buoy A buoy (; ) is a buoyancy, floating device that can have many purposes. It can be anchored (stationary) or allowed to drift with ocean currents. History The ultimate origin of buoys is unknown, but by 1295 a seaman's manual referred to navig ...

moored in 2018 that monitors

water quality Water quality refers to the chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of water based on the standards of its usage. It is most frequently used by reference to a set of standards against which compliance, generally achieved through tr ...

. Shipwrecks also are visible.

References

Notes Further reading *Shomette, Donald (1996) ''Ghost Fleet of Mallows Bay and Other Tales of the Lost Chesapeake''. Centreville, Maryland: Tidewater Publishers. . .

External links

Mallows Bay Park, 1440 Wilson Landing Road, Nanjemoy, MD 20662
*, at Maryland Historical Trust
Mallows Bay - Potomac River: A Proposed National Marine Sanctuary. NOAA Office of National Marine SanctuariesNOAA. National System of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)

Ghost Fleet Fast Facts. Oct 31, 2017. National Marine Sanctuary FoundationFriends of Mallows Potomac National Marine Sanctuary in Nanjemoy, MarylandFriends of Mallows Potomac National Marine Sanctuary Facebook pageMallows Bay - Potomac River: A Proposed National Marine Sanctuary. Chesapeake ConservancyThe Nature Conservancy - Passport to Nature: Ghost Fleet of Mallows BayThe National Trust for Historic Preservation. National Treasures. Ghost Fleet of the Potomac. Location: Charles County, Maryland'The Ghosts of These Historic Ships Float On'. Named a National Treasure. The National Trust for Historic Preservation. ''Preservation Magazine'', Winter 2018NOAA Nautical Chart 12288 - Potomac River
*
Aerial imagery of Mallows Bay
from ''

The National Map ''The National Map'' is a Collaboration, collaborative effort of the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and other federal, state, and local agencies to improve and deliver topographic information for the United States. The purpose of the eff ...

''
Mallows Bay Ghost Fleet along the Potomac River - from fossilguy'Secrets of the Chesapeake'. Maryland Public TV (MPT) Specials. PBS. 56:50PBS 'Secrets of the Chesapeake': Mallows Bay WWI shipwrecks. Broadcast April 18, 2012. Includes Photos Mallows Bay 1 & 2.
* {{authority control Bays of Maryland Bodies of water of Charles County, Maryland Potomac River Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Maryland Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Maryland Shipwrecks in the Chesapeake Bay Shipwrecks in rivers National Register of Historic Places in Charles County, Maryland Ship graveyards United States in World War I United States in World War II Modern ruins

Ghost fleet

Gallery

See also

References

External links