Mallows Bay Ghost Fleet- Nanjemoy, MD

Mallows Bay is one of the most interesting parks you have never heard of. Home to the largest collection of shipwrecks in the Western Hemisphere, the shallow bay on the Maryland side of the Potomac River is the final resting place of over 230 ships. 

Built hastily by the United States Shipping Board during World War I, the poorly constructed vessels were obsolete upon completion. They were stored in the James River until they were sold to a salvage company, who moved the ships to Mallows Bay in 1925. There, the company burned the wooden hulls, and salvaged the metal from the vessels. By 1931, the Great Depression gutted the scrap market, and the remaining ships were abandoned. 

During World War II, Bethlehem Steel was contracted by the Government to recover any remaining metal from the long abandoned ships. Following the war, the picked over remains were largely forgotten by everyone, except the local wildlife, who made themselves at home. Now a park, and a protected National Marine Sanctuary, you can view the shells from the shoreline, or by kayak.