Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge1730 Eastern Neck RoadRock Hall, MD 21661410/639 7056easternneck@fws.govhttps://www.fws.gov/refuge/eastern_neck

Federal Relay Service for the deaf and hard-of-hearing1 800/ 877 8339

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service1 800/344 WILDhttp://www.fws.gov/

February 2020

MARCH 3, 1849

U.S.

DEPAR

TMENT OF THE INTER

IOR

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Eastern NeckNational WildlifeRefuge

History ofEastern Neck Island

The History of Eastern NeckIsland

Eastern Neck Island is located at the mouth of the Chester River on the eastern shore of the ChesapeakeBay in Kent County, Maryland. Itsabundant natural resources havebeen the basis of a long and variedhistory. Today, the 2,285-acre islandis a national wildlife refuge that ismanaged to provide habitat for many species of migratory birds. Farming, fishing and hunting still occur on the refuge, although they are now tailored to suit the needs of wildlife.

During the time of the last greatice sheet ten thousand years ago,Eastern Neck Island was not anisland at all. Native Americans mayhave paused here while hunting tolook out over a wide forested valleyto the west. There, the SusquehannaRiver was carving throughfine-grained deposits placed bymeltwaters and wind during earlierglacial cycles on its long way to thesea. The Atlantic Ocean’s shore atthat time was 200 miles east of itspresent location.

As the last glacier melted, sea levelsslowly rose. Ocean waters swallowedup the Atlantic coastal plain anddrowned the river valley. About 4,000years ago the ancient hunters wouldnot have recognized the area wheretheir descendants, the WoodlandPeriod Indians, fished and gatheredshellfish from the brackish waters ofthe Chesapeake Bay. After theWoodland people began to settle and cultivate crops around 1300 A.D., they still used the island. They left behind huge mounds of discardedoyster shells, as well as ceramic pots,stone tools and the tips of spears and arrows as evidence of their presence.

When Captain John Smith exploredthis area in 1608, he made contactwith the Ozinie Indians, who wererelated to the Algonquin-speakingNanticokes. This tribe was noted fortheir exceptional beadwork madefrom shells. During the 1600’s, English settlers pressed local Native Americans onto reservations, orforced them to disperse with thePowhatans. Some Native Americansabandoned their traditional lifestyleand remained among the English.

The Island in Prehistoric Times

This goose, designed by J.N. “Ding” Darling, has become the symbol of the National Wildlife Refuge System.

©Meryl Henderson

©Meryl Henderson

European Settlment

In 1631 William Claiborne began thefirst permanent settlement on theEastern Shore, a fur trading poston Kent Island. Colonel JosephWickes, another early settler on KentIsland, could look east across theChester River from his plantation onLove Point to the lands that came tobe called Eastern Neck, where hedecided to acquire land as well.

From 1658 to 1680, Wickes and hispartner, Thomas Hynson, weregranted tracts until they owned allof Eastern Neck Island. JosephWickes built a home, “Wickliffe,”one of the finest mansions of the time.He made his living by raising tobaccoand other crops, and exportingthem on ships built at the family’sshipyard. For a time, the island mayhave been the County seat, forWickes was Chief Justice of KentCounty. “Hail Point,” the southeastern tip of the island, was named because it was a place where all ships coming and going on the Chester River could be seen and hailed to enforce shipping regulations. In 1675 the settlement of “New Yarmouth” was established just north of Eastern Neck Island at Gum Point. This town became the county seat until 1696, when the county government moved to the fast-growing port of Chestertown.

Joseph Wickes’ most famousdescendant was his great-grandson,Captain Lambert Wickes, the firstNavy officer named by Congress in1776 to carry the American flag inEuropean waters. During theRevolutionary War he terrorizedBritish shipping, capturing at leasttwenty-eight “prizes.” He also carried Benjamin Franklin to France aboard his flagship, the Reprisal, when Franklin was trying to gain French support for the American Revolution.

Lambert Wickes was lost at sea whenhis ship sank in a severe storm off Newfoundland on a return trip from France in 1777. A memorial to Captain Wickes can be found on Eastern Neck Island, near the Wickliffe historical site.

The American Revolution

©Meryl Henderson

FIFTH DISTRICTEDESVILLE

KENT Co.

©Meryl Henderson

Quieter Times Hynson’s heirs eventually sold alltheir Eastern Neck Island lands toWickes’ heirs, and the island wasowned by the Wickes family until1902. The period from 1800 to 1900witnessed the division of the originalparcels of land among the Wickesfamily and the diversification offarming activities. Small family farms and sharecroppers engaged inlogging, dairying, raising sheep andhorses, and growing peaches, pears,asparagus, and various other cropsfor subsistence and cash. A smallfishing village, which included anoyster-shucking plant, was located atBogles wharf. The Chester RiverSteamboat Company operated awharf nearby that was regularlyserved by steamships from Baltimoreand other ports.

As society became increasinglymobile in the 1920’s, wealthyindividuals from surrounding citieswho were attracted by the area’s notable concentrations of waterfowl, bought portions of the island forhunting retreats. One of the huntinglodges, built in 1933, still stands. Itwas refurbished in 2000 and nowhouses the refuge office and visitorcontact station.

In the 1950s a developer bought alarge tract and subdivided it into 293small lots for a housing development.The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,responding to concerns over thedevelopment expressed by the localcommunity, acquired the entireisland between 1962 and 1967 topreserve its valuable wildlife habitat.The Cape Chester House, located bythe Bayview Butterfly Trail, was theonly house ever built in the “CapeChester” subdivision. It now serves as housing for interns and visitingscientists.

©Meryl Henderson

Artifact hunting was once a popularactivity at Eastern Neck. Thispractice is no longer allowed, asconserving historical and naturalresources is an important part ofrefuge management. When artifactsare removed from their originallocation, historical information andknowledge are lost forever. All of thesites and artifacts on the refuge arenow protected by Federal and Statelaws. If you discover any artifacts onthe refuge please leave the object inplace and report its location to refuge staff or volunteers.

Artifact Hunting The National Wildlife Refuge System

©Meryl Henderson

©Meryl Henderson

Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge is one of more than 560 refuges in the National Wildlife Refuge System administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The National Wildlife Refuge System is a network of lands and waters managed specifically for the protection of wildlife and wildlife habitat for the continuing benefit of the American people. It represents the most comprehensive wildlife management program in the world. Units of the system stretch across the United States from northern Alaska to the Florida Keys and include small islands in the Caribbean and South Pacific. The character of the refuges is as diverse as the nation itself.