I suspect our conversation will revolve more around the environmental issues connected with Tangier Island, so I want to direct our attention to something slightly different in the demographic patterns Swift illuminates with a mix of stories and stats. It wasn’t until I flipped back through after reading this excerpted section that it occurred to me how closely some of these stories of him participating in island life worked with the data he reports to really emphasize the factors that are also eroding the island’s population—it seems like even if the island itself were to survive, there would not be anyone left inhabiting it. That’s been the case for other Chesapeake islands that were formerly inhabited, farmed, and fished: James Island, Sharps Island, Holland Island (9). Swift explains those islands were abandoned beginning around 1900 and lasting through WWI, as residents moved to the mainland for better opportunities; though he doesn’t make this connection, that is also reminiscent of a larger rural outmigration during the early decades of the 20th century, as mechanization in agriculture and other rural industries reduced labor needs and rural populations increasingly relocated to cities for industrial and commercial work, recreational opportunities, etc. Though we don’t get exact figures for Tangier in the 20th century, we certainly get a sense of how many structures and businesses have disappeared, signs of population decline. And, of course, he tells us that a population of 604 in 2000 had declined to 481 by 216, though in fact eleven of those only retain legal addresses on the island despite living on the mainland (19, 45-6). Young people in particular are leaving to attend college, serve in the military, or find work outside of crabbing even when they remain in maritime trades, a pattern exemplified at the high school graduation he attends; I thought the class had seven graduates though now I count only six, two of them bound for college, one for the military, and three to jobs with a tugboat company in Baltimore (76). Some stay, and marry, and Swift attends a wedding as one example (88). But when they leave, they meet partners and start families elsewhere, and are less likely to return to raise those families; a school that still served 100 students in 2000 was down to 53 in 2020, with only one student in the graduating class of 2020 (19). What population remains, then, is rapidly aging, with 108 past retirement age, and clusters of funerals clearly demonstrating the potential for a rapid drop-off in the absolute number of Tangier residents, with little hope of recovery (45-6). That’s further manifested in the housing situation, with 20% of the housing stock vacant and 66 of the 210 occupied homes housing but a single person (52). This all sounds dramatic, but it doesn’t make Tangier unique; it’s an experience shared with small, rural towns around Virginia. Those with direct travel options to major metropolitan centers may become home to commuters, but others are less viable, less attractive, at least to permanent residents; I do wonder whether a rise in remote work, like we’ve seen the last couple of years during the COVID pandemic, might reverse some of that population shift. Of course, that’s only viable if those smaller communities can offer the amenities to attract remote workers—Tangier, with one grocery store, a single year-round restaurant, no resident medical professionals, and no reliable cell phone signal, seems unlikely to attract lots of younger, tech-savvy remote workers reliant on regular services and connections. The island has relied on families like Carol Moore’s—she’s an 8th-generation resident (1)—rather than attracting newcomers, at least from what we’ve read so far. But those people are leaving, not remaining for 9th and 10th generations. If we’re going to have a conversation—as I am sure we will—about whether there should be a massive effort to protect the island from erosive forces, especially in the face of continued climate change and subsidence that a government investment in seawalls won’t be able to address, then surely the diminishing number of beneficiaries from such a project should be a consideration as well.
