It’s a full-circle moment for a piece of history-laden waterfront property in southern Anne Arundel County, Maryland. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) is building a new oyster restoration center at the former home of one of the largest seafood packing plants on the East Coast.
Woodfield Ice House, Fish & Oyster Co. in Galesville sold about 150,000 gallons of shucked oysters per year during its 1935-1945 heyday. Up to 125 shuckers tackled 800 bushels a day during oyster season. Woodfield’s also sold bagged ice and seafood like white perch, shrimp, scallops, and herring roe. A decline in oysters and shucking labor forced Woodfield’s to end oyster canning in the mid-1990s. The plant operated under Annapolis Produce and Seafood from 2002-2022.
Now in the hands of CBF, the property will be back in the oyster business… this time, returning oysters to the water instead of harvesting and selling them. The new hub, called the Truman T. Semans Center for Oyster Restoration and Innovation, will be a “Baywide gathering place for oyster restoration” with space for volunteers, partners and the local community to plan Bay cleanup efforts. In the design phase now, the center will be used to recycle oyster shells, grow baby oysters (known as spat-on-shell), build reef balls, and host oyster gardening programs. When completed, the site will be able to produce up to 50 million oysters for restoration each year.
“This historic property where oysters were shucked and processed will soon become a hub for oyster education, restoration, and innovation, where oysters will return to the water and help support a healthier Bay,” said CBF Senior Vice President of Programs Alison Prost.
The Truman Oyster Center will be a green building and property akin to CBF’s Philip Merrill Environmental Center in Annapolis and the Brock Environmental Center in Virginia Beach. There will be exhibits and educational signage to tell the story of the Bay’s oyster fishery, including its watermen.
The center’s namesake, Truman T. Semans, said that oysters are personal to him. “I’ve had a connection with oysters since I was six years old. Oysters have been central to my living and I still adore them— they’re my favorite food,” he said. “It’s worth spending all kinds of time, effort, and fortune to keep going in the right direction.”
Environmentalists claim oysters as a growing success story, citing Maryland numbers that show oyster populations have tripled in the last 20 years.
“Oyster restoration is working, and we want to build off that momentum and proven success,” said CBF Maryland Executive Director Allison Colden. “The new Truman Oyster Center will help us do just that
The new oyster center will also house CBF’s 60-foot oyster restoration vessel, the R/V Patricia Campbell. It is expected to begin operating in spring 2027, with phased construction continuing from there. In the meantime, CBF will continue oyster restoration at its existing site in Shady Side, also in southern Anne Arundel County.
