Smith Island lies approximately 10 miles (16 km) west of Crisfield, Maryland, across the Tangier Sound portion of the Chesapeake Bay.

[2] Preventative measures have been implemented, including a jetty-building project completed in 2018, and the realignment of waterways through dredging.

[9] Few motor vehicles exist on the islands, and these are all in the northern community of Ewell and the connected Rhodes Point.

[3] British settlers arrived on the island in the 17th century, coming from Cornwall and Wales,[10] as well as Dorset, England, via Virginia.

[3] Smith Island is inhabited by one of the region's oldest English-speaking communities, known for its relic accent, which preserves many speech patterns from the original English colonial settlers.

For example, although 23,000 acres of rich oyster beds had been ceded from Maryland to Virginia in 1877,the Smith Island men kept on dredging there for 50 years despite repeated attacks by Virginia patrol boats and inter-island battles in which oystermen on both sides were killed and wounded.

Although killing wild ducks for market has been outlawed by Federal enactment since 1918, Smith Island remains a source of anxiety to the United States Biological Survey.

Wardens risk their lives when drawn to the lonely island marshes by the deep booming of swivel guns mounted in sneak-boats—artillery that throws a pound of shot at a blast to kill and cripple ducks by the hundreds.

The islanders are sure that God has given them the ducks, oysters, fish, and crabs to take as they wish and they bitterly resent man-made game laws.

[20] The most common recipes yield yellow cake with chocolate frosting, but other flavor variations include coconut, fig, strawberry, lemon, and orange.

Great attention is paid to the perfection of the pencil-thin layers that form the distinctive cake.

[22] Before each round, the prize Smith Island cake at stake is cut in half and shown to the players, who pay to participate in the game.

Captain Everett Landon and his wife Carole Ann lead these demonstrations, providing an immersive opportunity for visitors to explore the island’s culinary heritage.

[24] Smith Island cake became the officially designated state dessert of Maryland on April 24, 2008.