Saxis is a working waterfront on the Pocomoke Sound
Saxis was settled by shellfish harvesters and crabbers along the Pocomoke Sound’s rocky shoreline in 1666. Today, the peninsula is still a working waterfront, with commercial fishermen emptying crab pots and oyster cages at the town harbor. Aside from houses, churches and restaurants, most of Saxis is made up of a protected cordgrass-covered marshland. “If you don’t work on the water, you fish, kayak and bird watch just about every day,” says Moody Miles, a Saxis local and the director of the Saxis Island Museum. The area regularly experiences flooding, and the small population of around 200 residents nearly doubles during the summer, but the locals believe the town’s friendly atmosphere outweighs these cons. “If I’m out working in my yard and someone drives past in their golf cart, they stop, and we end up talking for hours,” Miles says. “I think I could tell you the name of every single person in town. That’s just what it’s like living here.”
Reasonably priced homes attract NASA employees
Housing includes cottages, farmhouses and Colonial Revivals built between the early 1900s and the ‘60s. Homes across the street from the water are often raised on stilts and have private piers and boat slips. The median single-family home price is around $175,000, though properties needing renovations may start at $55,000. These prices are significantly less than the national median, a trait Miles says attracts employees of NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility, 20 miles east. “Tons of current and retired Wallops employees live in Saxis, and they all say they moved here because it’s cheap.” He adds that short-term vacation rentals here are also priced lower than places near Chincoteague, a resort island 25 miles east. “Nobody staying in Saxis is actually vacationing in Saxis,” Miles says. “They’re driving to Chincoteague every day and saving money by renting here.”
Flooding occurs regularly in Saxis
Nearly every home is in an extreme flood zone, and flood insurance is mandatory for homeowners here. Storms, like Hurricane Sandy in 2012, erode the shoreline and break down wetlands. However, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other environmentalist groups are building jetties and working to restore the landscape to help with drainage. Residents should also be aware that cell service is spotty in Saxis. “You can’t answer a call without Wi-fi,” Miles says. “And storms knock out our power pretty often.”
Saxis has a harbor, a fishing pier and protected marshland
Sailboats, workboats and powerboats are tied to wooden docks at the Saxis Harbor, which has 75 slips available to rent. Locals shuck shellfish while musicians perform under the harbor’s pavilion during the annual Saxis Oyster Roast in October. Anglers catch gray trout, striped bass and croaker off the 200-foot-long Saxis Fishing Pier, where the annual kids fishing tournament is every September. The town has several boat ramps, many of which are kayak launches within the over-5,600-acre Saxis Wildlife Management Area. Kayakers can paddle across the marshland’s shallow water, dotted with crab pots, bald eagle nests and primitive beaches. An annual $25 permit is required to fish, kayak and camp in the wildlife management area. “Every local has that permit,” Miles says. “You can’t even sit in a boat while your buddy fishes if you don’t have it.”
B grades and above for Accomack County Public Schools
Accomack County Public Schools serve the area. Kids can attend Kegotank Elementary, which earns a C from Niche, and Arcadia Middle, graded a C-plus. They may continue to B-minus-rated Arcadia High, where Career and Technical Education classes include cosmetology and welding.
Saxis Road experiences flooding during high tide
Though locals often take golf carts or bikes around the area, Saxis is a car-dependent community. State Route 695, locally called Saxis Road, is the only way off the peninsula. Marshland surrounds the two-lane street, which frequently goes underwater during high tide. “We can’t drive off Saxis for about an hour or two every day,” Miles says. “Everybody just looks at tide clocks to see when we can leave and come back.” The Saxis Volunteer Fire & Rescue squad provides some emergency services, but the closest hospital is in Onancock, about 25 miles south. Salisbury, 50 miles north, has the nearest regional airport.
There’s a diner, bar and ice cream shop here
Saxis has three restaurants. “There’s one for breakfast, one for lunch and dinner and another for dessert,” Miles says. Brenda's on the Dock of the Bay Café is a diner serving hearty breakfast classics, like French toast and egg sandwiches. Crab cakes and clam fritters are on the menu at Captain E’s Hurricane Grill & Tiki Bar, a waterfront spot with cornhole boards, live music and docks. Locals order ice cream scoops and banana splits from Sherrye’s Snack Shack. Miles says these places are typically busier during the summer. “I only notice how many out-of-towners are here when I’m trying to get a table at one of our restaurants.” Tourists also visit the Saxis Island Museum, filled with scale model schooners, vintage oyster tins and Native American artifacts. There’s one post office and two churches in town. Saxis Holiness Church has been around since the early 1900s, while Saxis United Methodist Church’s Victorian Vernacular-style building was built in 2002. The closest grocery store is the Food Lion in Oak Hall, about 13 miles east on Saxis Road.
