Assateague’s Gun Club Era

by Sandy Phillips

Remains of Clemens Beach House, originally constructed in 1953, by Wylie Maddox and sold to Robert Clemens in 1964. While rarely used for waterfowl hunting, it was popular for deer hunting. The house was rebuilt in 1968.

AAs I compose this story, we soon enter year 3 of the COVID 19 Pandemic. While our world is forever changed in many ways, good things have emerged over the last couple of years. We have learned to prioritize family and take our overall health more seriously to maintain a more robust immune system. We have spent much more time with family members and seized opportunities to strengthen those bonds. Native Chincoteague islander

Stephanie Montross and her father Russell Fish began a quest to visit each of the remaining hunting lodges on

Assateague Island and learn more about their rich history.

Stephanie has a passion for nature photography, and

Russell just loves spending time with his daughter. It's been an incredible adventure for them, which they still enjoy. We thought you, too, might enjoy a bit of that story. Most locals have never seen the lodges, and even fewer visitors will. They are now difficult to reach, requiring permits and 4-wheel drive vehicles. Roads that once lead to the "resorts" have long crumbled and become impassible. Some are reachable via boat from the Virginia area, but you will need to know just where they are and which 'gut' will take you to them. Rich in history, remains of the lodges are now registered with the Maryland Historical Trust, a source for much of this information. In addition, in 2004, the National Park Service(NPS)/Department of the Interior commissioned the report Waterfowl Hunting Camps and Related Properties within the Assateague Island National Seashore, Maryland, and Virginia. I have also drawn from that text; you can find it in its entirety in the public domain. I have also spoken with a small handful of people, including Russell Fish, who visited these lodges as children during their glory day, all of whom have fond memories of the camaraderie of those who love the waterfowl sport. My husband and I, too, had the privilege of seeing many of these in our youth; hiking to the lodges was always an adventure; at that time, the road was still somewhat passable via 4-wheel drive.

Historic images by Andrew Roach, NPS, including images by Stephanie Montross, and Beached Paws Photography, other images sourced as noted.

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Most of the hunting clubs were owned by the wealthy, but there were other commercial lodges where the modest hunter could enjoy the sport. For locals, the gunning clubs provided a means for work. Often gun clubs would employ the whole family over generations to carve decoys, pick fowl, provide housekeeping and blind maintenance, and many other related services. This was not just a resort-style endeavor, the end of the Civil War brought great prosperity and affluence to the North East as large cities like New York, Philadelphia, and Boston became commerce hubs. Waterfowl began to take center stage on restaurant menus, and with the railroad in full swing, getting waterfowl to those restaurants from the island offered a more steady income for locals. The train also provided quick travel to and from the region, and the business boomed. In 1877, Chincoteague Island was rapidly becoming a favorite resort for waterfowl hunting. The strip of land that traversed Maryland and Virginia was along an East Coast flyway. It is said that close to 100 ducks/ geese a day were harvested on the Chincoteague side of Assateague Island, primarily by market hunters. Many commercial lodges were for "market gunners" who began to harvest so much waterfowl that new laws were established. The Federal Migratory Bird Act of 1918 imposed harvest limits, established hunting seasons, and included some firearms restrictions. With the implementation of such a significant change, many market hunters became professional guides and carvers. In 1935, more regulations prohibited the use of live decoys. While primitive decoys were used much earlier, the decoy carving industry would grow dramatically as very skilled professional carvers would supply wealthy hunters with realistic models. In addition, the more prosperous gun clubs often provided better quality decoys. The Great Depression, followed by numerous severe storms during the 1930s, contributed to a decline in the more traditional waterfowl hunting at the clubs and lodges, but many did continue and for decades. Even President Nixon enjoyed a few holidays on Assateague, at the house of Whaleyville, MD native Thomas McCabe, one-time CEO of Scott Paper Company.

Bunting’s Gunning Lodge constructed in the late 1930s. The last of the family to own the property was Eugene Bunting who purchased the property from his grandfather, Clayton for just $1.

Postcard courtesy Vanishing Ocean City Early all-terrain vehicle (ATV) photographed at Buntings Hunting Lodge. Image circa 2007

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Bob O’ Del Gun Club was constructed from 2 former shanty boats, probably as early as 1917 and the buildings were connected via a series of boardwalks. It began as a “corporate” hunting club by members of General Motors

Hungerford House was built in 1953 and later rehabilitated by NPS and used for short term housing.

Green Run Hunting Club & Lodge, circa 2007 NPS. The lodge was constructed in 1954 -57 from part of the Green Run Inlet Life-Saving Station built in 1875-76. It was often described as “one of the finest commercial clubs in the country.” It was the largest commercial gunning club in MD. Waterfowl hunting remains a significant form of recreation along Maryland and Virginia's Eastern Shores. While the sport started as a means of subsistence, it reached a peak as a recreational sport in 1939 with over 44 thousand licensed sportsmen and almost 3000 hunting clubs and privately owned hunting areas nationwide. Of those 3000, approximately 11 stood on Assateague Island. Because hunting is not permitted in most National Parks, certain areas were initially set aside for hunting, recognizing that it was such a popular existing sport in the area. When the NPS began purchasing private parcels, many owners retained property rights for 25 years. Clubs such as Clemens had exclusive rights while others merely kept hunting season rights. On properties where rights were surrendered at the sale, those areas were immediately opened for public hunting during the season based on a lottery system. As a result, waterfowl hunting increased by 17% in the early 1970s and remained almost consistent through 1980. As the early 1980s arrived, visitors to Assateague island were interested in more beach-related activities like swimming, surfing, bird watching, hiking, and other non hunting activities. As a result, hunting dropped to approximately 1%, most of that was for deer hunting. In the late 1990s, retention rights expired, and an era had come to a close.

“There were large dinner parties at the clubs, and the wealthy would fly in for gambling.”

“There were many Model A Fords at the camps as people drove to the camps. Others would take the Ferry to reach the clubs via water, and there was even a small airstrip for the elite to fly in. It was a big business just getting hunters there.”

Skytours Inc - Dining in the Main Clubroom - Green Run Lodge/ NPS.gov

Valentines Lodge, circa 2020, was constructed in 1966. The smaller lodge boasted numerous ducking blinds across it 169.84 acre parcel. The lodge is one of only a few owned by the National Park Service, not registered with the Maryland Historical Trust.

Image NPS.gov / from the Ocean City Life Saving Museum 1965/66

The Chesapeake Bay Retriever

In 1807, off the coast of Maryland (presumably Assateague), a ship from Newfoundland, Canada, bound for England, encountered heavy seas and began to take on water. As the sailors aboard accepted their seemingly grim fate, salvation arrived from a local boat whose crew successfully rescued all aboard, including two dogs. The dogs were later named "Sailor" and "Canton," after the ship's name that saved them. The dogs were "St. John's Water Dogs," also called Lesser Newfoundlands. The dogs were purchased for a guinea each by a gentleman who took them home to Maryland's Western Shore, where they were bred. Had they reached their original destination on the British shore, it is believed they would have become the dogs of aristocratic waterfowl hunters as they possessed exceptional skills for retrieval. Canton was historically noted to have the most unusual eye color with a "dingy reddish" coat. Owner, George Law of Baltimore, described them as "peculiar, so light as to have almost an unnatural appearance." While descendants of Sailor and Canton have been bred with what the American Kennel Club (AKC) says they believe to be Coonhounds, those noted eyes of Canton's are still often seen in well-bred Chesapeake Bay Retrievers. By 1888 the breed was recognized as an official breed, and many naturally skilled Chesapeake Bay Retrievers could be found at the better gunning clubs on Assateague.

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