J. C. Lore Oyster House

The J.C. Lore Oyster House is a two-story wooden structure with metal roofing and reinforced concrete walls built to withstand flooding. Inside, the shucking rooms show how workers sorted and processed the catch with hand tools and simple equipment.

This processing plant opened when the oyster industry was booming along the Patuxent River and grew to be one of the largest operations in the area. It operated for nearly a century before declining stocks and changing markets led to its closure.

This facility provided steady work for local families and shaped the community's connection to the water for decades. The shucking rooms were gathering places where workers shared their craft and stories during long working days.

You can walk through the preserved work areas and see where the shucking and packing happened day after day. The site is now a museum exhibit, so plan time to read the displays and understand how this business operated.

The plant was famous for its advanced methods of keeping oysters fresh enough to ship across the country to distant markets. This ability to preserve and transport a delicate product over long distances was unusual for the time.

Location: Calvert County

GPS coordinates: 38.32389,-76.46111

Latest update: December 14, 2025 14:24