The village took its name from the steamboat Gratitude, which from 1888 to 1914 made regular stops there and in Centreville from the Light Street Piers in Baltimore. Before motor transport, steamboats opened remote towns to commerce by carrying passengers and Bay produce to urban markets. Sold in 1914 to a Virginia company, Gratitude ran excursions until it was pressed into service as a support ship for the U.S. Navy during World War I. It was sold to a Cuban owner in 1926, and the 150-year era of bay steamers ended in 1962.