Home Maryland Port Deposit, MD: The Union Hotel Tavern

Port Deposit, MD: The Union Hotel Tavern

Old Texans never die, they just move to Pennsylvania.

Reggie Rogers is a 6 foot 1 inch Harley-Davidson rider hailing from the Lone Star State. His country-boy euphemisms are as sharp as the Bowie knife in his pocket, and his Texan twang is as thick as the petroleum blanketing the Gulf of Mexico.

"Watch out, there's horse shit all over up there", he says, referring to the horse-drawn buggies riding up and down the roads of Chester and Lancaster Counties, PA. "And it's slicker than owl shit!"

Reggie wanted to take us on a motorcycle tour of the Tri-State Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delware area.

On this particular Saturday, The Union Hotel Tavern outside Port Deposit, MD wasn't drawing in the crowds of bikers like it usually does. It seems the 50% chance of rain and the unusually thick humidity gave the wannabes a good reason to work on their honey-do lists instead.

The DJ set up on the bandstand outside was doing his best to look excited, while what few dedicated Harley-riders sat in the outdoor beer garden swatting mosquitoes and wiping their foreheads.

Reggie recommended we go inside the tavern itself.

Built around 1794 along the banks of the Susequehanna River, just north of the town of Port Deposit, MD, the Union Hotel once served folks who piloted their boats and rode their horses up and down the river. Still operating as a hotel and restaurant after all these years, visitors go there for candlelit dinners of local fare, including rabbit and crab, in rooms stately decorated in antiquity.

In the 1980s, the Hotel's owner Janet Dooling opened up a tavern, and since then the place has become a popular destination for motorcyclists, particularly since it's located well away from civilization and surrounded by some of the region's best motorcycle roads.

"Oh my God, did you see the size of that mosquito!" Sash quipped as she escaped quickly into the tavern.

"Yeap, the skeeters here are big enough to stand flat-footed and fuck a jack-rabbit at the same time", Reggie replied, not even cracking a smile, proceeding to the bar.

According to an article published by the Baltimore Sun back in 2003, the Union Hotel used to operate as a brothel in the early 1900s, serving workers who constructed the Conowingo Dam. Dooling, who resides in the Hotel at the top floor, claims to have seen ghosts, including a "dusty man" and a "woman in blue".

Before buying the hotel in 1979, the building had been used as an apartment, then fell into disrepair and subsequently caught the eye of vandals. Since then, Dooling and her husband restored the old hotel to its Colonial style beauty, much to the appreciation of the local historical society, and now to the thanks of thousands of local bikers.

"Well, I'm sorry, but I thought there'd be more bikes here", Reggie apologized, assuming we were hoping to get surrounded by sweaty, smelly guys in closed quarters. "Usually on a Saturday, there's bike all up and down here."

It didn't matter to Sash and I. We kinda liked having the air conditioning all to ourselves.

But what adds an unusual flair to this "biker bar" is that it offers the same food menu as its restaurant hotel counterpart. It's common to see gray-bearded guys clad in bug-splattered leather and sweaty bandannas nibbling on Sauteed Frog Legs, Pan-fried Brie, and Spinach Ricotta Pie.

On the other hand, Sash and I wanted something more road-oriented like a hamburger or a Reuben sandwich, which they indeed offer. But we couldn't help noticing other unconventional biker chow on the menu, such as the Oysters Smithfield, the Sauteed Veal Liver, and the locally traditional Maryland Crab Cakes.

But then again, bikers in the Tri-State area are a different sort.

Reggie, on the other hand, is one of the last hold outs, still opting to keep Texas license plates on his police edition Road King, even after three years of living in Pennsylvania.

"I didn't want to have to give up my citizenship", he said while throwing down a bottle of Shiner Bock. "You never know, we might find ourselves moving back to Texas someday."