St. Michaels Business Directory

St. Michaels is a historic waterfront town on the Miles River with about 1,100 permanent residents, known across the region as a premier tourism destination. Founded around an Episcopal parish in the 1670s, the town built its early economy on shipbuilding and later oyster packing before reinventing itself in the 1970s around tourism, anchored by the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, which draws roughly 95,000 visitors a year. Today the local economy is built on hospitality and retail: boutique inns, waterfront restaurants, specialty shops, and tasting rooms line the walkable historic district along Talbot Street, with no chain restaurants or traffic lights to interrupt the 19th-century streetscape. Major employers include the Inn at Perry Cabin, Harbourtowne Resort, and The Crab Claw restaurant. St. Michaels remains connected to its maritime roots through working boatyards and a small fleet of watermen, even as the town's economy has shifted decisively toward visitors seeking Chesapeake Bay charm, fresh seafood, and historic character within easy reach of Easton.