The Eastern Shore of Virginia: A description of its Soil, Climate, Industries, Development, and Future Prospects.
General Features.
The Eastern Shore of Virginia, comprising the two counties of Accomack and Northampton, forms the lower part of that great peninsula which lies between the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. This region was settled early in the 17th century -- a few years after the settlement at Jamestown, and was called in the early charters granted by the English Sovereigns Chersonesus Orientalis from its resemblance in shape, fertility, and physical features of the Hellespont and called by the ancients the Thracian Chersonese. The original settlers of the Eastern Shore were of sturdy English stock, whose
LOCAL ADVANTAGES.
That part of the world known as the Eastern Shore of Virginia, extends from the Pocomoke River, which separates it from the Eastern Shore of Maryland, to Cape Charles, a distance of more than 70 miles. Its width varies from 5 to 12 miles. Lying between the Chesapeake bay and the Atlantic Ocean, the peninsula is indented with an almost countless succession of creeks, inlets and estuaries, in which the finest oysters of the world grow, and crabs, terrapin, and other shell-fish abound. The proximity of these large bodies of salt water modify the climate and makes this section one of the most healthful and pleasant in the world. Long continued extremes of heat and cold are unknown here, and animals on the seaside islands live through the severest winters on the uncut wild grasses of the marshes. The
warm winds of the Gulf Stream greatly soften the rigors of winter, while the cool sea breezes in the summer make the evenings and nights of the hot season delightfully cool and pleasant. It is confidently believed that in no other region of the world can so many of the good things of life be obtained so readily and at such moderate cost. The abundance of oysters, fish, wild fowl, and many other things that are ordinarily in reach only of the wealthy, and the varied products of farm and garden here combine to nourish a people unsurpassed in energy, vigor, and all the higher elements of human civilization. To these conditions is doubtless due, in part, the robust vigor and healthfulness of the inhabitants. It is the unanimous testimony of all physicians who have investigated the matter that more old people in proportion to population can be found here than any other part of the country; and this fact has led to the prevalence of the witty remark that "the old people on the Eastern Shore do not die, but dry up and blow away." Malarial fevers are not so prevalent here as in higher latitudes, and rarely lead to serious results, while the malignant type of typhoid fevers, so prevalent and deadly in mountainous regions, is almost unknown here. The general healthful appearance of the people as seen in their great annual gatherings at the agricultural fairs and camp meetings would lead one to suppose that this region is a great natural sanitarium.
SOIL,INDUSTRIES, ETC.
The soil of post-tertiary formation, being a portion of that great alluvial marine plain, which, beginning at Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts, extends along the Atlantic coast to the Gulf of Mexico. It consists of a rich sandy loam, which is cultivated with the least trouble and at the smallest cost. One man with a single horse can plow more land in one day than two men, with two or three horses each, can do in the same time in stiff or rocky soils. The late Governor Henry A. Wise, himself a native of the Eastern Shore used to say of these lands, "that they were far more valuable and desirable than other soils which would yield much more per acre, because on the Eastern Shore a man and a mule could, thanks to the easy tillage and the greater surface he could work, make more crop on the light land than on the strong; and in this country where lands are abundant and cheap, labor is the element most to be considered." In former times, wheat, Indian corn, oats and tobacco were the staple crops here as in other parts of Tidewater Virginia. But since the late war a great revolution has taken place in agricultural operations on the Eastern Shore. The cultivation of tobacco was abandoned here long ago; wheat is not now raised in any considerable quantity; and though the soil is admirably adapted to the raising of Indian corn, yet not enough corn is grown here to supply the local demand These crops have been gradually superseded by others that bring a greater reward to the laborer.
The present excellent water and railway connections with Norfolk, Richmond, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, Boston, and other eastern cities, are rapidly transforming the Eastern Shore in a vast, trucking farm. The tendence is
to break up the larger estates of former days and divide them into small farms that can be easily cultivated by two or three men. In this way is promoted the growth of that healthy middle class of yeomanry so necessary to the prosperity of any country. Success invariably attends well directed industry, and in consequence most of the farms in this section are worked by the men who own them. Travellers passing through this region are struck with the trim and well-cultivated farms, the neat and comfortable buildings, and the unmistakable evidence of the general thrift of the people. It is confidently believed by well informed persons that the farmers of the Eastern Shore are the most prosperous and contented agriculturists in the United States. Owing to the great abundance of lands, farms can be bought at from $8 to $50 per acre, according to location and condition of land. For safe and profitable investments, these lands offer unsurpassed inducements to capitalists. To prove this, it is only necessary to state that persons here having money to lend prefer a mortgage on real estate to personal security, and are willing to lend money to the full market value of the land so held. But the general freedom of farms from mortgage in this section is the best evidence of the prosperity of the people.
The mildness of the climate and the consequent length of the growing season enable farmers frequently to raise two crops on the same land in one year. To show the amount of produce that can here be raised on a small farm, it may be stated that Capt. Benjamin S. Rich, residing on Folly Creek, received nearly six hundred dollars from one of his tenants, the same being one-third of the produce raised on a farm of 60 acres by one colored man for the year ending Dec. 31, 1890. Nor is this an exceptional case; many similar ones can be cited. Hon. John S. Wise in a recent address before the Eastern Shore Historical Society declared it as his deliberate opinion that this is the most favored region he had ever known, "for," said he, "an Eastern Shoreman with nothing but a piece of raw meat for a bait and a clam-shell for a sinker can catch enough crabs to buy a fishing hook and line; with this he can soon catch enough fish to buy a boat; with his boat he can soon catch enough oysters to buy and furnish a farm; and a man owning a farm on the Eastern Shore of Virginia is the most contented and independent being in the world."
ACCOMACK. (ITS PRODUCTS AND INDUSTRIES).
Accomack, the northernmost and larger of the two Eastern Shore counties, contains 245,314 acres of land and about 30,000 inhabitants. This county is the most famous sweet potato region in the United States. Carefully compiled statistics show that during the year of 1890 nearly EIGHT HUNDRED THOUSAND BARRELS of sweet potatoes were shipped from this one county alone. Putting the Irish or round potatoes at one eighth (1/8) that number, and counting the green peas, kale, radishes, cabbage, and other truck products, we shall have a grand total of not less than TWELVE HUNDRED THOUSAND barrels of truck products shipped from this county in one year, which must have brought the producers not much less than two million dollars. This does not include the
crops of corn and oats, of which considerable quantities are raised every year, nor the great oyster and fishing industries, in which a large part of the population find profitable employment. The rapid growth of the sweet potato industry on the Eastern Shore may be seen from the fact that the census of 1880 shows that in that year only about one hundred thousand barrels were raised in this county, while accurate statistics show the product of 1890 to be fully eight times that amount. Much attention is now paid to the growing of early strawberries for market, and persons not unfrequently make from three to four hundred dollars each year from one acre in strawberries. These facts show how rapidly this entire region is becoming a great truck garden for the cities and towns in the middle and northern Atlantic States. So valuable are the oyster beds in the waters lying around Accomack that this one county had nearly as many men and nearly as much capital engaged in this industry as all the other counties in the state combined. The New York, Philadelphia and Norfolk Railroad runs through the entire length of the county affording rapid transportation to Philadelphia, New York, Boston, and other northern cities, while a fine line of steamers ply four or five times a week between this county and Baltimore, and during the trucking season steamers run to New York and Philadelphia, thus affording unsurpassed facilities for cheap and rapid transportation. Farmers can now load their products here in the afternoon, and early next morning they are exposed for sale in the Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York markets.
TOWNS AND VILLAGES.
Accomack has been styled the land of top-buggies and small towns. Nearly everybody here owns a horse and carriage, as the people here call the four wheeled top-buggies, and the surface of the county is thickly dotted with prosperous towns and villages. Onancock, the largest town on the Virginia peninsula, is beautifully situated on a bold and picturesque arm of the Chesapeake Bay. It is incorporated; its principal streets are paved with shells; its stores are large and well furnished; all the leading Protestant denominations have churches there; and the educational facilities are excellent. In addition to fine public schools, there is in Onancock a private academy of high grade for both sexes. Accomack Court House the county seat, only four miles north-east of Onancock, is a thriving town, and within the past few years many handsome houses have been erected there. The new clerk's office is said to be the prettiest and best arranged structure of the kind in the State, and it is proposed to build a large and handsome court-house in a few years that will comport with the dignity and meet the demands of this great and flourishing county. Leemont, Mappsville, Modest Town, Belle Haven, Pungoteague, Franklin [City], Greenbackville, Horntown, and Wachapreague are all thriving villages, while Keller, Onley, and Parksley are new and rapidly growing towns on the line of the railroad.
THE ISLANDS.
No account of Accomack would be complete without some mention of the famous Chincoteague Island, situated in
the Atlantic off the north-eastern coner of the county. It has a population of more than three thousand and is one of the most enterprising and thriving communities in this section. Its people are largely engaged in oyster planting and realize large profits from their labor. On Chincoteague and the neighboring island of Assateague are raised the famous ponies, that feed all through the winter season on the grass of the marshes. The penning of these ponies in July and August still constitutes one of the great festivals of the islanders. The Island is a popular pleasure resort, and two fine hotels are kept there to accommodate the visitors who throng the island at all seasons of the year.
South of Chincoteague is Wallop's Island, said by Bayard Taylor to have the finest beach on the Atlantic coast. It has been recently purchased by a syndicate of Washington and Philadelphia capitalists who are erecting there an elegant club house and a number of cottages. It is proposed to build a branch from the main line of the railroad about four miles distant to this island, which is destined to become in the near future one of the most popular seaside resorts on the Atlantic coast. Lower down on the same side of the county are Matomkin, Cedar, and Parramore's islands, each about 6 or 7 miles long, and affording fine sites for pleasure resorts. Tangier Island in the Chesapeake Bay has a population of more than twelve hundred souls, most of whom are engaged in catching fish and oysters.
NORTHAMPTON. (ITS SOUL AND INDUSTRIES).
Northampton is the southernmost county of the Eastern Shore Peninsula and contains 103,255 acres of land. Its soil is similar to that of Accomack, and what has been said of that county applies equally as well to Northampton, and all the advantages possessed by Accomack of easy and quick transportation to markets are equally enjoyed by the citizens of her sister county. Northampton excels in the production of Irish potatoes, and in recent years her people have greatly increased their acreage in sweet potatoes, so that this industry promises to become here what it has been for some years in Accomack, the great money crop of the people. The people of Northampton are rapidly converting their farms into truck gardens and devoting their energies to the development of the capabilities of the soil and surrounding conditions. Evidences of enterprise and prosperity are to be seen on every hand. Lands are increasing in value; sightly dwelling houses are building everywhere; towns and villages springing up and growing; and everything seems to point to the assured success of this section. Far sighted capitalists have recognized this fact and many of them have made considerable investments in these two counties. Hon. William L. Scott, the Pennsylvania millionaire and ex-Congressman, purchased six years ago the old Tazewell farm near Cape Charles City, paying for it $50,000. which was considered at that time a fine price for the farm. Last year the produce from that farm sold for $75,003.65, and yet the full producing capacity of this farm had by no means been reached. Under the
agement of Capt. Orris A. Browne, the revenues derived from this farm are increasing rapidly every year.
TOWNS AND ISLANDS.
Northampton, like Accomack, has a multitude of thriving towns and villages, among which may be mentioned Eastville, the county seat, famed for the refinement and hospitality of its people, Franktown, Marionville, Wardtown, Bay View, Capeville, Cheapside, and Cape Charles City. The last named is the southern land terminus of the N.Y., P.&N. Railroad, from which point an elegant line of steamers run twice every day to Old Point, Norfolk and Portsmouth. Cape Charles is a new town, and is growing very rapidly. Cobb's Island long famous as a seaside resort lies on the eastern side of Northampton and has recently been purchased by a syndicate of Richmond and Lynchburg capitalists, who are having a magnificent hotel erected there with all the most improved comforts and conveniences. Hog Island has recently been purchased by a Philadelphia syndicate; and Smith's Island, off the southeastern part of the county, is also a desirable location for a seaside resort or as a site for a club house for sportsmen.
SITES FOR PLEASANT HOMES, &C., &C.
In both counties the numerous creeks and estuaries running up into the land form beautiful sites for homes and afford the greatest facilities for growing oysters, catching fish, and shooting wild fowl. At certain seasons of the year the marshes and creeks on the seaside afford the finest sport, and every year hundreds come from New York, Washington and Philadelphia to kill the wild fowl which abound in these parts.
The Eastern Shore of Maryland, which forms the upper and larger part of this famous Peninsula possesses in many respects all the advantages of soil, climate, and transportation now enjoyed by Accomack and Northampton, and the prosperity which prevails here among the agricultural classes is enjoyed in large measure by the farmers on the Maryland Peninsula. Pocomoke City near the Virginia Line, Crisfield on the Chesapeake Bay, Snow Hill, the county seat of Worcester, and Salisbury, the county seat of Wicomico, are some of the thriving Maryland towns contiguous to Virginia's Eastern Shore. Salisbury is the Roanoke of this section. A railroad has been recently completed with a steam ferry across the bay to connect Baltimore with Salisbury, and it is confidently hoped that this road will in a few years be extended down through Accomack and Northampton, thus giving these counties two competing railroad lines.
No attempt has been made to get up a boom for any town or section of the Eastern Shore. Its development, while rapid, is solid and permanent, and there are such combinations of natural advantages and such possibilities of development in the near future that the most sagacious and far-sighted capitalists do not hesitate to invest their money in Eastern Shore lands. This section of the country has long ago realized the prediction of a writer in Harper's Magazine, who said it would in course of time become the Peninsular Canaan of North America