Eliason collection

The Tolchester Steamboat Company operated excursion and freight steamers from its pier at Light Street in Baltimore, Maryland to the Tolchester Beach Amuseument Park in Kent County, Maryland as well as to other resorts and ports on the Chesapeake Bay. It was incorporated in 1878, with Calvin Taggart leading the company as president and William Conlyn Eliason (1850-1921) as general manager and agent. Eliason became president upon the death of Taggart in 1887 and remained in that position until his own death in 1921. Eliason also formed the Tolchester Beach Improvement Company of Baltimore City, an adjunct of the Tolchester Steamship Company, in order to administer the development of Tolchester Beach into a major resort destination.

The Tolchester Beach Amusement Park quickly became a favorite destination for Baltimoreans as it was only 27 miles across the Chesapeake Bay. Steamers ran daily between Baltimore and the Park, which grew to over 150 acres and included a hotel, pavilion, bathing beach, and a variety of attractions--such as horse-racing, a merry-go-round and roller coaster-- and games, including a shooting range and tenpin bowling alley.

The Tolchester Steamboat Company also operated routes to Annapolis, and along other Maryland waterways including the Susquehanna, Sassafras, and Little Choptank Rivers. It closed in 1936 and was taken over by a new company, Tolchester Lines, Inc. In the late 1950s the company was sold and resold, with the Tolchester Beach excursion service and park lands remaining in operation through the early 1960s. The land at the Tolchester Beach Amusement Park was finally sold for development in 1962.