HERRINGTON A P L AC E I N T I M E
Herrington a p l ac e i n t i m e
Herring Bay is a breathtaking natural cove of the scenic Chesapeake. These protected waters and surrounding countryside have drawn visitors and residents for thousands of years. Herrington Harbour has witnessed a long rich history – it is a place in time.
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The name Herring Bay dates to the earliest European settlement of the area in the 1600s, probably indicating a rich source of the herring fish. Spelling varied in this period, so Herring appeared in different ways as on this 1673 map. C h e s a p e a k e B ay • m a r y l a n d
Deale Herrington Harbour North
HERRING BAY 3
Herrington Harbour South
Chesapeake Beach
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Herrington Harbour Marina – South
Herrington Harbour Marinas
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have their origin in 1978 at what is now known as Herrington Harbour South, near Holland Point. Several marinas at the north end of Herring Bay were acquired, creating Herrington Harbour North. Expansion has continued, making Herrington Harbour Marinas the largest privately-owned and environmentally friendly marina and yard complexes on the Chesapeake Bay. It was voted "Best Resort Marina on the Bay" and "Best Boatyard on the Bay" by Chesapeake Bay Magazine and has received numerous environmental awards. Stewardship is the hallmark of its owners; honoring and preserving its historic setting has been and remains a guiding principle.
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Herrington Harbour South
is located on Rt. 261 and is noted for its expansive views of the Chesapeake Bay. Its predecessor was the Rose Haven Yacht Club, a private club operated by Joe Rose, which opened in 1948. After a period of decline in the 1970s, the old yacht club and marina were rescued by a partnership led by Steuart Chaney. They purchased it in 1978 and initiated its dramatic transformation into a modern marina.
Today, Herrington Harbour South features the Inn at Herrington Harbour, a beachfront resort with elegant lodging, restaurants, private beaches and an Olympic-size swimming pool. The protected marina basin accomodates 600 boat slips within a scenic marsh wildlife habitat, which can be explored via a two-mile eco trail.
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Herrington a p l ac e i n t i m e
Herrington Harbour Marina – NORTH Herrington Harbour
Located on Rt. 256 near the town of Deale, is where “countryside meets the Chesapeake Bay.” This marina holds an additional 600 boat slips with an adjacent yacht yard for 1500 boats on land. A spa, restaurants, swimming pools, and picnic areas make this bayside oasis a popular family destination.
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Nearby is the Historic Village, a collection of 12 unique vernacular buildings that were rescued from demolition by the Chaney family and relocated to this site. It is open to the public and conveniently located adjacent to the yacht yard. Additional information about the Historic Village is featured later in this booklet.
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Fairhaven Cliffs The Fairhaven Cliffs, bordering the Chesapeake Bay, are such a prominent landform that even as early as the 17th century settlers in the area identified themselves as residents of “The Cliffs.” Like the impressive cliffs continuing down the coast into Calvert County, these geological formations expose an ancient seabed that is millions of years old. As they erode, the remains of 12 million year old sea creatures are constantly exposed. These fossils are from what geologists call the Miocene time period when the continent’s coastline ran along the geologic fall line between what is today Baltimore and Washington D.C.
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Fossilized sharks teeth are most frequently encountered, along with the bones of extinct porpoises, whales, and fish. Miocene period shells are also frequently found – identified by their bleached white appearance. Occasionally, even the fossils of land animals which died and washed out to sea millions of years ago are found. As they are constantly eroding into the bay, these petrified remains might be encountered on almost any local beach setting. In fact, since they are literally in the ground beneath our feet, looking down anywhere in the Herrington Harbour area might be rewarded with the discovery of a piece of our ancient past.
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Rose Haven Prehistoric Shell Midden Just across a marsh to the west of Herrington Harbour South Marina, a private home sits on what once was a large and thriving Indian village called the Rose Haven Site.
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Although now hidden under a well-manicured lawn, the location of this prehistoric town is marked by huge deposits of oyster shells that were harvested by Native Americans centuries ago. Since the shells do not rot away, when the area was plowed farmland these remains were very obvious. In Colonial times the area was called “The Shell Field.” During the 1970’s this site was partially excavated by teams of archaeologists from the Archaeology Society of Maryland. They found evidence that the Rose Haven Site had been occasionally occupied for thousands of years, starting at least as early as 2000 B.C. right up to the arrival of Europeans around A.D. 1650.
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But it was during the period between A.D. 200 and 700 when Algonquian speaking Indians turned the site into a large seasonal village – returning each summer to harvest massive amounts of the easily obtainable oysters. Archaeological finds also included the remains of deer, bears, rabbits, and other locally available food sources like fish, turtles, and waterfowl. The stone spear points and broken pottery recovered clearly indicate the Algonquian occupation, as does the presence of exotic tools made from rocks traded in from as far away as New York. Although the site is unmarked and on private property, if you find yourself heading northwest from the Herrington Harbour Marina on Lake Shore Drive (MD261), take a moment to ponder that man has always found Herring Bay a pleasant place to visit.
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Located about seven miles west of Herrington Harbour North, the Pig Point Site sits on a bluff overlooking the Patuxent River. Despite the slightly irreverent sounding name, Pig Point is one of the most important archaeological sites ever discovered in the Chesapeake region. Six years of excavations by Anne Arundel County archaeologists demonstrated that the site had been occupied by humans for as long as 13,000 years. The inhabitants left behind soil deposits up to seven feet deep marking changes in their lifestyles through time. C h e s a p e a k e B ay • m a r y l a n d
THE PIG POINT ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE These excavations uncovered hundreds of thousands of artifacts including arrowheads, spear points, and pottery, as well as the bones, nuts, and shells that were once Native American meals. The archaeologists also discovered stains in the ground where posts once stood that clearly marked the outlines of wigwam structures dating over thousands of years. These could be seen beginning as early as 3000 B.C., making them the oldest structures yet found in Maryland. However, the most important discovery at Pig Point was the presence of a number of large pits used for mortuary purposes. The remains of hundreds of individuals were deposited in these pits. Archaeologists were astounded to
find that all their bones had been thoroughly smashed into small pieces and thrown into the pits – mixed with the similarly broken remains of large spear points and stone pipes made by the Adena people from the Ohio River Valley. This connection between Maryland and the mound-building people of the Midwest is one of the great archaeological mysteries that currently has no clear answer. 13
The Pig Point Site is located on private property and is not available to visit.
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The Catholics are Coming… The English Civil War comes to Herrington 1649 was a difficult year for Lord Baltimore - Proprietor of Maryland. The English King Charles I, who granted his father the colony, settled in 1634 as a refuge for Catholics, was beheaded by the soon to be victorious Parliamentarians during the English Civil War. Lord Baltimore took three steps to hold on to the colony: he replaced his Governor with a Protestant one, he passed a law “tolerating” all religions in the colony, and then invited a group of Puritans from Virginia to settle in Maryland.
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Beginning in 1649 at the Town of Providence on the Severn River, the Puritans spread rapidly along the county coastline by the early 1650’s, including the area around “The Cliffs” (Fairhaven) and the Town of Herrington. This concentration of Puritan settlers became the population center of Maryland, which led to an overt rebellion with Lord Baltimore’s government in St. Mary’s City.
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In March of 1655, the Governor set out with troops on ten ships to subdue the Puritans. On their way north they landed at Herrington and raided the homes of Richard Wells and Edward Carter, seizing weapons, records, and supplies. Lord Baltimore’s forces proceeded to the Providence settlement where they engaged in the Battle of the Severn, the only land battle of the English Civil War to take place in North America. In a particularly vicious fight, the largely Catholic forces were soundly defeated by the Puritans. In fact the political and religious differences were so radical, the Puritans executed a number of prisoners after their victory. The 1655 attack on the Herrington Harbour area – a raid by enemies from the sea – would be a recurring theme, duplicated by British attacks during the Revolutionary War and War of 1812.
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The Lost Town of Herrington
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Samuel Chew patented 400 acres of land for the town of “Herrington” in 1652. By the late 1650’s the settlement was significant enough to be the site of county-wide elections. In 1667 Herrington was formally established as a town by Lord Baltimore, the Proprietor of Maryland, and in 1683 it became a “port of entry” to regulate shipping. Despite its early success the town had virtually disappeared by the early 1700’s.
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Herrington appears on Augustine Hermann’s 1673 map of the Chesapeake. It was considered a major settlement at this point.
Archaeologists from Anne Arundel County’s Lost Towns Project dug over seven hundred shovel test pits in search of clues to Herrington’s actual location.
All results were negative on Town Point itself, but as the test excavations expanded outward along the road, artifacts dating to the mid- 1600’s began to be discovered. These included ceramics like Dutch delftware, English sgraffito and border ware, and German salt-glazed stoneware. Eventually a number of locations were discovered that indicated 17th century occupations, shown as black silhouettes in the photograph below.
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Herrington a p l ac e i n t i m e
Pirates of the Chesapeake Since the first arrival of Europeans, the protected waters of the Chesapeake Bay, with its many hidden coves and tributaries, provided shelter for pirates and privateers. For centuries sailing ships plying these waters had the pirate’s black flag to fear. Perhaps the most famous pirate of all, Edward Teach or “Blackbeard,” was one of these. Blackbeard considered the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay a favorite hunting ground to prey on merchant shipping, and used the Eastern Shore as a main source of supplies until he was captured in 1719, and his severed head was put on display in Hampton, Virginia.
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Other Bay pirates included one of Captain Kidd’s shipmates, Theophilus Turner, who was captured on the Bay in 1699 and tried in Annapolis. A popular legend in Rock Hall, a town on the Eastern Shore, claims that Captain Albert Hall, known as “Graybeard” and “The Rock,” settled at this locality in 1703. As late as 1807, a French pirate vessel – the General Massena – was captured on the Patuxent River with some of the crew escaping into Calvert County.
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Black Beard Anne Arundel County produced its own infamous pirates. Richard Clark of Beards Creek on the South River, Thomas Sparrow of Rhode River, and three other men seized a sloop on nearby West River in 1705. They then began a career of piracy, robbery, and mayhem, including counterfeiting of Spanish silver “pieces of eight.” They ranged all over the bay and eventually centered on Norfolk. With a price on his head, Richard Clark disappeared and was never heard from again. Interestingly, Thomas Sparrow’s home was discovered and excavated by Anne Arundel County archaeologists in 2008.
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HOLLY HILL Traveling west from Herrington Harbour South on scenic Friendship Road one passes an unassuming private driveway. There is nothing about the spot to indicate the vast significance of what lies beyond – the oldest documented house in Maryland. Built in 1699 for Samuel Harrison, a wealthy Quaker merchant and planter, Holly Hill stands on Holland’s Hill, a tract of land first patented in 1663 for Francis Holland. Its present name is a later alteration of this early tract name. The first phase of Holly Hill consisted of a frame dwelling with two ground floor rooms and a loft – a typical layout for the time period. Its precise construction date of 1699 was ascertained through the scientific use of dendrochronology (tree-ring dating). The exterior was originally covered with unpainted riven wooden clapboards. The house was significantly enlarged twice, first in 1713 and again in 1723 when a brick cross-wing was added and the earlier frame section was encased in red brick. 20
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One of Holly Hill’s many impressive early interior features is a series of early 18th century paintings, three of which are landscapes made on wood panels over doors and a fireplace. On a fourth, Samuel Harrison proudly commemorated his life’s achievement in a circa 1730 painting, entitled “Samuel Harrison’s Land Near Herring Bay.” It is a plat (map) of his plantation’s boundaries and structures, including a spectacular detail of his grand brick house. Today Holly Hill stands on extensive acreage and is protected by preservation easements. Except on rare occasions, it is not open to the public.
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Herrington Harbour
Samuel Chew’s “Large and Elegant Mansion” –Circa 1695 One of the most interesting parts of the 1735 Hoxton map was an inset that demonstrated how to sail in Herring Bay while avoiding shoals and shallow water. Based on this map, Anne Arundel County archaeologists began a search for the home of one of Herrington’s founders, principal supporters, and perhaps its most prominent citizen – Samuel Chew.
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Navigating these tricky waters involved lining up your ship with the “Great Tree” and three structures, including the homes of Samuel Chew, Sr. and Samuel Chew, Jr. On the upper right, the most prominent structure, the home of Chew, Sr., was shown as a two-story building with hipped roof, paired chimneys, and a cupola. The Chew mansion had been totally destroyed by fire in 1772, and the site subsequently abandoned. Between 2006 and 2010 Anne Arundel County’s Lost Towns Project conducted intensive archaeological excavations at the site with the primary goal of discovering the building’s footprint. C h e s a p e a k e B ay • m a r y l a n d
Fallen Chimney in Cellar
a place in time
The most significant discovery was that the Chew Mansion was far larger than anything ever imagined. Its floor plan of 66’ by 56’ with 3 ½ stories ranks it as among the largest known structures in the Chesapeake.
Northern Chimney Base
In fact, it was apparently the largest building in Maryland or Virginia when it was built.
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Along with fine ceramics and glassware, the artifacts recovered from this dig included black and white granite tiles and polychrome delft tiles which once decorated the magnificent home.
These finds are clear evidence that the Chew family, citizens of Herrington, were among the wealthiest in the Chesapeake Region. The rediscovery and recreation of their magnificent home adds an important piece to Herrington’s past.
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The British are Coming‌ The War of 1812 comes to Herrington During the War of 1812, the British established a military base on Tilghman Island in the Chesapeake. This was part of a campaign that would eventually result in the famous attack on Fort McHenry in Baltimore and the burning of the White House in Washington D.C. The British frequently used their warships on the Chesapeake to raid and burn warehouses, shipbuilding facilities, and even homes up and down the Bay.
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On October 27, 1814, they turned their sights on Herrington and the tobacco inspection station at Tracey’s Landing. A British schooner, accompanied by seven barges, brought approximately 250-300 men to carry out the attack. Since most of the local American militia had gone north to defend Baltimore, the only local force left to oppose them was a few dozen men under Lieutenant John Scrivener, a local landowner. The American force manned a small defensive earthwork on Town Point at Herrington, equipped with a single nine-pound cannon. Given the overwhelming odds, the battle was brief. The cannon fired only twice. On the third attempt the cannon’s wheel ran over Scrivener’s foot at which point he and the few remaining militia retreated. The raid then proceeded unopposed up Herring Creek for the next three days until October 31 when the British were attacked by regular U.S. Dragoons and were forced to end their incursion. By that point they penetrated as far north as the Methodist Church at West River, burning two stores, two private homes and the tobacco inspection station at Tracey’s Landing.
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Fairhaven Tourists have been drawn to the sheltered beauty of Herring Bay since the early 19th century. While today they mostly arrive by power boats or sail, their first major mode of transportation was by steamboat. George Weems, in partnership with James Harwood who owned Fairhaven Plantation, supplanted what once was Samuel Chew’s docking facility in the middle of Herring Bay starting in the early decades of the century. By 1828 George Weems had begun a steamship company that ran boats between Baltimore and Fredericksburg that stopped in Herring Bay. His company continued in existence until 1905 – and followed by others.
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THE FAIRHAVEN HOTEL
Now both gone from the landscape, the Fairhaven community once boasted a large pier regularly visited by steamboats out of Baltimore and the 56 room Fairhaven Hotel. In 1878 a room at the hotel could be rented for $12 per week – with children and servants half price. After the railroad to Chesapeake Beach was built, tourism at Fairhaven declined and the hotel was demolished in the 1920’s.
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OLD COLONY COVE
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Situated on a bluff overlooking both Herring Bay and the Chesapeake, Old Colony Cove commands a dramatic and breathtaking view of the Chesapeake. This historic house may have been built in the 1820s by John Scrivener to replace his earlier dwelling that was destroyed by the British during the War of 1812. It most certainly appears at this location by 1846, based on a map from that time period. After John’s death in 1849, the dwelling and surrounding plantation remained in the Scrivener family until the 1870s. The Italianate architectural features were added in the 1850s giving the house its distinctive octagonal cupola and decorative cornice brackets.
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Although privately owned, the house can be seen from Herring Bay due to its elevated position on the bluffs or “cliffs” above the Bay. This strategic placement was used as a sailing navigational aid for access into Herring Bay, as seen on Hoxton’s map of 1735.
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FRIENDSHIP The small crossroads village of Friendship, clustered around the intersection of Friendship Road (Route 261) and Old Solomons Island Road, just east of Maryland Route 2, has its roots in the 18th century. It grew around a Methodist chapel, known as the Weems Preaching House, built in 1785. By the 1860s, Friendship was a bustling town of 32 buildings, including 3 stores, 2 hotels, 3 churches, the Methodist parsonage, 1 school, 2 blacksmith shops and a Temperance Hall.
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The oldest surviving structure is the parsonage, which today houses an antique shop. Built in 1806 by Samuel Gott as a one-and-a-half story store and post office, it was expanded in 1815 to become the Methodist parsonage. In 1840, it was enlarged again to reflect its present appearance. In 1835, Friendship United Methodist Church was built of brick in the Greek Revival architectural style. It replaced the Weems Preaching House and continues to serve the local area.
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The Parsonage
United Methodist Church
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A Bad Day at Gettysburg Several graves at the Friendship United Methodist Church - like Christ Church eight miles to the north in West River - and at numerous small family cemeteries in southern Anne Arundel County contain the remains of Confederate soldiers. This would not be unusual for a region with clear southern sympathies, but these all bear the same date of death July 3, 1863 – the third day of the battle of Gettysburg. The 2nd Maryland CSA had been recruited in southern Anne Arundel so the local boys all remained together. The region paid a heavy price for this during the fight on Culp’s Hill where 52 men of the regiment were killed – a sad day for the families of south county. Christ Church
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Chesapeake Beach The resort community of Chesapeake Beach lies three miles south of Herrington Harbour Marina South on Route 261. It was built in the era when beach-side recreational towns sprang up along the Chesapeake Bay coast, accessible by steamboats and railroads. The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw the rise of these types of vacation get-aways for the growing middle class in nearby urban centers. Chesapeake Beach was laid out in 1899 by the Chesapeake Beach Railway Company, a short line railroad founded in 1896. Originating in Washington D. C., it connected tourists to the Chesapeake Bay, a mere 28 miles away. The new resort town featured amenities such as the luxurious Belvedere Hotel and a roller coaster called the “Great Derby.” The beach and the allure of legal gambling made it a thriving community between 1900 and 1930. Steamboats brought tourists from Baltimore, adding to its overall success. 32
Private ownership of automobiles cut into the railroad’s profitability and a number of catastrophes occurred, including the loss of the hotel by fire in 1923. The economic collapse of the Great Depression drove the railroad into bankruptcy by 1935. With construction of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in 1952, most beach goers were diverted to Ocean City.
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Today, Chesapeake Beach is experiencing a renaissance. The town boasts numerous seafood restaurants, condominiums, a recreational water park, boardwalk, and pier. A museum of the town’s history is located in the old Chesapeake Beach Railway Station.
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NORTH BEACH North Beach is located two miles south of Herrington Harbour South on MD Route 261. Originally known as North Chesapeake Beach, it was platted in 1900 one year after Chesapeake Beach. Like its neighbor, North Beach was developed as a waterfront recreational town. Today it is primarily a year-round community with dramatic views of the Chesapeake Bay.
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WESTLAWN INN BUILT 1926
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Beach and gambling tourists made North Beach a roaring success, large enough to become incorporated in 1910. In the 1920s, it became known for an amusement company, which featured the ever-popular House of Titillation and Uncle Billy’s Tavern. Eventually, a number of events dimmed its early success. A hurricane in 1933 and the Chesapeake Beach Railway’s bankruptcy in 1935 were particularly devastating, followed by a fire in 1945. Construction of the Bay Bridge in 1952 and the end to legal gambling in 1968 added to the decline. Today North Beach is an attractive destination for visitors and residents. This seven-block walkable waterfront town features a public fishing pier, a half-mile-long boardwalk with a bike path, and a preserved wildlife refuge within its tidal marshlands. Fossil shark’s teeth can be gathered from the beach and memorabilia of the past can be experienced at the Bayside History Museum. Other amenities include antique shops, restaurants, art galleries and boutiques.
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The Historic Village at Herrington Harbour North Over the past 25 years, owners of Herrington Harbour Marinas have assembled a unique collection of historic buildings, saving them from demolition. Inspired by the desire to preserve small vernacular structures, this quest resulted in salvation of a dozen buildings dating from the late 18th to the early 20th centuries, which were once central to the lives of local residents. Seven of these buildings form the “Historic Village” located along Rt. 256, between St. Mark’s Chapel and the Herrington Harbour North Marina, while the remainder are located north of the road. Two dwellings (one log), a tobacco barn, corn crib, carriage house, smoke house, and two outhouses evoke the rural farming lifestyle of local Anne Arundel and Calvert Counties.
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The Nutwell School served local white children between 1885 and 1920. One of the school teachers was the Chaney family’s great aunt, Nellie Chaney Watts, who in 1906 taught 24 children in the one-room schoolhouse. In 1920, it became a school for African American children and later a private residence. It was moved to the Historic Village in 1991 and in 2008 became the headquarters and museum for the Deale Area Historical Society.
Holland Meeting House, the first structure relocated to the Historic Village, opens a window on the self-reliance required of African Americans in the early 20th century. It served as a community center and financial support system for the local community. Known as the United Sons and Daughters of Holland Beneficial Society, it was in operation between 1905 and 1983.
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HERRINGTON A PLACE IN TIME Prepared for He r r i n gton Harbour Marinas Ste u ar t and Hamilton Chaney WRI TTE N A ND PRE PA RE D by Al Lu ckenbac h and Donna Ware 2018 B OOK Design by Pi e rce an d Danyelle Ware - WareWolf Design Printer XXXX PhotOgraphic assistance by Ste u ar t Ch an ey, Ham i l ton Chaney, W illie Graham, John Kille, Ed ward Pap e nfu se , Ric hard and Gail Ellis, Cary Carson, An n e Ar u n d e l, County Lost Towns Projec t, He r r i n gton Harbour Marinas
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