City Dock: Capt. William Burtis House

October 1, 2026

The Old (New) Capt. Burtis House

Where Maritime Heritage Meets Annapolis' Waterfront Flood Protection

In the 1880s, the area along Prince George’s Street was a bustling neighborhood of watermen and tradespeople who relied on the bounty of the Chesapeake Bay. Known as Hell Point (originally as Hill's Point), the neighborhood included homes in the area of King George Street, Randall Street, Prince George Street, and Holland Street.

In 1940s, the United States Naval Academy acquired properties through 12 separate land purchases and landfill projects along the Severn River. The Naval Academy went from a 10-acre campus in 1845 to its present size of 338 acres. The land acquisitions in the area of downtown eliminated most of the neighborhood of Hell Point.

Just outside the expanded Naval Academy footprint, at the end of Prince George Street, stands the sole surviving 19th-century waterman’s cottage on the Annapolis waterfront. The home was built in 1882. Known today as “Burtis House,” it was the one-time home of Captain William Burtis (shown at left) and his family.

During Capt. Burtis’s lifetime, he expanded the house from a duplex into a single-family home. He operated a boat rental, fishing, and touring business directly from the property (convenient at the water’s edge).

He was locally famous for having harpooned a 9.5-foot-long, 900 lb shark in waters off Prince George Street. The day after the shark was brought to shore, the story was front-page news (see sidebar).

The Burtis family owned and lived in the house continuously until 1971, when Captain Burtis’ descendants sold the property to the State of Maryland.

From 1971 until 2022, it stood at the water’s edge. During that era, the property was home to the Sailing Hall of Fame and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. By 2019, both had departed and Burtis stood vacant.

Over the decades, Burtis House has faced the brunt of flooding challenges at City Dock, with first-floor inundations entering the home during tidal and storm surge events.

In 2020, when the City Dock Action Committee came together, it became clear that Burtis House was the keystone parcel connecting the City’s and the U.S. Naval Academy’s flood protection work. Without possession of the home, the lot could become a breach point for flooding in a continuous line of defense that will run from the Naval Academy’s flood wall on the Severn River all the way around to Ego Alley and Compromise Street.

The State of Maryland transferred the deed to Burtis House to the City of Annapolis in 2022 for the City Dock Revitalization Project. Working in tandem with Preservation Maryland, early work in 2024/25 shored up the property to prevent further degradation.

Some of the windows, siding, and the flood-ravaged first floor were removed, and cross beams were put in place to stabilize the historic home. Then, Burtis House was elevated nearly eight feet to prevent future high-water events from inundating the structure.

[see a time-lapse video of Burtis House being raised]

Capt. Burtis Shark Tale

According to a front-page story in the Evening Capital from August 19, 1895, several sharks had been spotted in Spa Creek. At 8 p.m. on August 18, Burtis saw the fin and rushed to his boathouse.

“He immediately secured a rowboat and a harpoon, already prepared with 50 yards of line,” according to reporting in the paper. “The shark, frightened by the noise of the boat, made a detour, but Capt. Burtis, who is an experienced man in the business, plunged the harpoon in the mammoth fish, striking it almost two feet from the tail. It did not live long.”

Burtis is quoted: “After I plunged the spere [sic] in the shark, which was four feet away, it disappeared. Soon after I felt my boat moving and realized that I was being carried by the shark which I penetrated with the harpoon. I knew that the blow I had struck had taken effect, and I did not in the least fear danger from the shark, which was rapidly towing me toward Greenberry [sic] Point, nearly two miles out of my course. The shark, apparently anxious for freedom, struck out in all points of the compass. The twisting and turning of the boat at times kept me uneasy for safety, especially as I had tied the rope attached to the harpoon to a barrel which had become fastened under the seat.”

Architects and landscape designers next got to work to not only design a plan to restore the structure, but also integrate it into the City Dock plan.

Because Burtis House does not have space to accommodate ADA-accessible bathrooms or an elevator, public use of the home as-is is restricted.

Instead, planners worked to preserve the home and maintain its historic character by externally connecting it to the new headquarters for the Annapolis Harbormaster, also known as the Maritime Welcome Center.

In the illustration above, the Burtis House is shown on the right. A walkway between the two buildings will serve as a bridge to the two structures, providing access to both the second floor via elevator and to ADA-compliant restrooms.

In the drawing below, Burtis House maintains its original character, anchoring the new street-end park on Prince George Street at the connection point to the U.S. Naval Academy’s resilience and flood-protection work.

The Capt. William Burtis House has been a part of the Annapolis waterfront for more than 144 years. It’s seen neighboring homes either condemned to be part of an expanded Naval Academy yard or demolished for commercial structures along the Prince George Street corridor.

When the work at City Dock is completed, Burtis House will continue to stand strong as part of the evolving history of downtown Annapolis.

City of Annapolis | 160 Duke of Gloucester | Annapolis, MD 21401 US

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