Welcome to Doc Smithers B&B

     Built by "Capt." Firman Layman in 1848 and willed to his daugther, Elizabeth Ann Pryor, upon his death.  She in turn left it to her son, William J. Pryor.  Next, the house was purchased by Mr. Waitman Smithers in 1911.  Mr. Smithers was a toll collector and later Superintendent of the Canal.  Four generations of the Smithers family have made their homes in this block of Bohemia Ave.  The son of Waitman Smithers, Delmar Smithers, becam a dentist and had his dental office on the third floor of the house.  "Doc" Smithers, as he was fondly known, left the house to his two unmarried daugthers, Margaret and Elizabeth.  Upon their deaths the house was purchased by Mr. Lee Collins who restored it to its former glory.  In 2000 the current owners, U.S. Navy Captain & Mrs. Edward Schweizer, Ret., purchased the house.

     As described in the Maryland Trust Records:  "Dr. Smithers' house is one of the principal buildings in Chesapeake City.  It represents the second phase of building in the town when the Greek Revival style was in vogue.  It is a prime example of original details from the late 1840's.