History of the Solomons Island
Area
Solomons is located at the southern tip of Calvert County, in
Southern Maryland, where the Patuxent River meets the Chesapeake Bay. The island itself
was variously known as Bourne's Island (about 1680), Somervell's Island (1740- 1814) and
Sandy Island (1827- 1865). The land was most likely part of the early land grant of
Eltonhead Manor. Early land records show that the island was owned by a number of
individuals until 1865 when a tract of eighty acres called "Sandy Island" was
sold to Isaac Solomon. This area has played little part in the significant events that
shaped the tidewater area in the seventeenth, eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.
Tobacco farming brought the first settlements and towns and associated commerce to the
Patuxent region. Except for the burning of Point Patience in 1780, the American Revolution
was chiefly fought to the south of Solomons. The War of 1812 came much closer as farms and
settlements along the Patuxent River became targets for the British forces as the British
fleet made its way up the Patuxent River on its way to burn Washington.
 Eight months after
President James Madison declared war on Great Britain, initiating the War of 1812, British
Navy frigates and men-of-war blockaded Chesapeake Bay and began raiding along the rivers
of the Tidewater.
Captain Joshua Barney, having served with distinction during
the Revolutionary War, came out of retirement with a dramatic proposition for William
Jones, Secretary of the Navy. Barney recommended the construction of a number of lightly
armed, shallow draft barges or galleys that could be both sailed or rowed. These would be
faster and more maneuverable than the larger and more heavily laden British vessels. He
received approval to begin construction in August, 1813 and on May 24, 1814, promoted to
Commodore, Barney led the Chesapeake Flotilla against a British force vastly superior in
both numbers and weapons.
For an in-depth look at Commodore Joshua Barney, check out
the Barney Family
Historical Association
Another good reference documented
by Christine Hughes can be found at http://mason.gmu.edu/~chughes3/projecthome.html
Check out the
Summer
2000 Bugeye Times to find out more about the
gunboats
of St. Leonard's Town during the War of 1812
During the Civil War when Marylanders often fought against
Marylanders, there was virtually no impact on this practically uninhabited point of land.
Following the Civil War and the economic boom that
flourished, Solomons began to come into prominence. The nearby harbor off Drum Point had
provided a sheltered anchorage for sailing vessels bound up and down the Chesapeake. With
the surge in the oyster industry after the Civil War, Maryland became the world's leading
supplier of this product. It was inevitable that someone would discover the potential of
Solomons as a center for oyster processing and the construction and repair of oystering
vessels.
Isaac Solomon, a Baltimore businessman, established a cannery
together with associated services and workers' housing and was advertising his canning
establishment as "Solomons Island." He leased small lots on the island to many
people who paid a yearly rent varying from $9 to $21. In 1870, the community received
official recognition when the United States Postal Service opened an office.
 Benefiting from the accessible position at the mouth of the
Patuxent River, the town quickly built a reputation as a center for shipbuilding and
repairing, seafood harvesting, and the provisioning of sailing vessels engaged in the
oystering business. The census of 1880 listed fifty-one different households and 237
residents. The Solomons fishing fleet exceeded five hundred vessels, many of which were
locally built. Captain Thomas Moore owned nearly one hundred vessels, the largest private
fleet in the state. Solomons was soon becoming the most important commercial center in
Calvert County.
More bugeyes (large, deck-over sailing canoes, typically
built of shaped logs) were built in Solomons than in any other community on the bay.
The first framed bugeye, Clyde, was built by Isaac Davis on Solomons Island in
1877.
In the November 12, 1892 issue of the Calvert Gazette,
Solomons was described as: "There are about one hundred houses upon the island,
including some stores which do an active business in the oyster season, and three
shipyards. It is chiefly occupied by oystermen and fishermen. "
By the 1890s, Solomons consisted of two distinct communities
- Solomons Island proper and Avondale on the mainland. The two were separated by a shallow
stretch of water spanned by a rickety bridge. With a population, at this time, of about
400, most of the business activities were centered on the island and Avondale was mainly
residential. Other nearby communities, notably Dowell and Olivet, also flourished.
Like other tidewater communities of the late nineteenth and
twentieth centuries, Solomons was isolated, close-knit and self-sufficient. Roads were few
and became impassable in bad weather. By 1915, the state provided a road from Solomons to
Prince Frederick, the county seat of government. Horse and ox-drawn wagons were the chief
means of transport by land. Solomons' link with the outside world was the twice-weekly
steamboat from Baltimore. The arrival of the steamboat was a source of entertainment and
great activity for the entire community. The steamboats provided supplies for the
inhabitants of the area as well as provisions for the local stores. The steamer also
provided a comfortable means to make occasional visits to Baltimore to shop and visit
friends and relatives at the various stops along the route. Every family had its own boat
that was used as people use the automobile today.
Entertainment had to be provided by the residents of
Solomons. In the summer, children and adults would sit under the cool shade of the trees
that stood near the town well. Swimming among the children and sailing parties for the
adults were quite popular pastimes. When the creeks and rivers froze, skating was the
sport of the day.
Many local chapters of fraternal clubs were organized in this
thriving community. Solomons took pride in a baseball team that played teams in other
communities in the neighboring counties and as far away as Washington and Baltimore. Local
talent also found an outlet in locally produced plays and theatricals. The most
anticipated entertainment was the arrival of the James Adams Floating Theater. The theater
carried a drama troupe and orchestra that performed matinees and evenings, usually for a
week's stand.
Making a living from the water required physical stamina and
skill. Second jobs were often a necessity and at an early age, boys were expected to work
after school to help the family with expenses.
With the arrival of the first automobile on Solomons around
1910, a way a life was irrevocably changed. Former resident Ethelbert Lovett recalled,
"when word came down that the first automobile was on its way to Solomons, Miss Susie
Magruder, the principal of our three-room school, dismissed us for this historic occasion.
Workmen in the shipyard dropped their tools and gathered around the new vehicle."
With the automobile came improved roads and new bridges and two other marvels of the
modern age - the telephone in 1899 and electricity in 1928. With the completion of the
Gov. Thomas Johnson Bridge in 1977, linking Calvert and St. Mary's counties, Solomons had
lost its isolation.
During the first decade of the twentieth century, Solomons
prospered. Many of the communities largest homes were built at this time. But, by the late
1920s, the region's economy began to falter and declining oyster harvests and fish
production forced watermen to look elsewhere for a living. Many local boatyards went out
of business as the demand for workboats decreased. M. M. Davis and Son turned to building
other types of crafts, such as custom yachts. Solomons began to show a steady growth in
the business of providing recreation to "outsiders" - beginning with summer
boarding houses and charter boat fishing in the early years of the century.
The Great Depression was devastating to the economy of
Solomons, but even more devastating was the greatest natural disaster to hit Solomons -
the August 23, 1933 storm. The lower half of the island was submerged, oyster beds and
packing houses were destroyed and the steamboat wharf was torn away. Many boats were
washed away, damaged, lost or destroyed.
During the 1930s the M.M. Davis & Son Shipyard produced
many fine wooden yachts that brought international fame to Solomons. The High
Tide, for example, owned by Eugene duPont, won nearly every race she entered until
she was so heavily handicapped that duPont refused to race or sell the Davis-built yacht.
Perhaps the best known Solomons-built yacht was the Manitou,
built in 1937 for James R. Lowe. She won the Detroit to Mackinaw Straits race, and
was sailed by former President John. F. Kennedy while she was owned by the U.S. Coast
Guard. White Cloud, also built by M. M. Davis & Son, later won the same
race. Today, little boatbuilding is done at Solomons. Charter-boat fishing,
recreational boating, and tourism are the major activities.
New wealth was brought to Solomons when America entered World
War II. Three navy bases were established at the mouth of the Patuxent River. These three
facilities made a major contribution to the war effort and brought new jobs to local
residents. Between 1942 and 1945, the population of Solomons increased from 263 to more
than 2,600. And during this time, it was the local watermen who suffered the most as
oystering and crabbing locations were disrupted by the military activity.
Please visit our
Cradle of Invasion web site to
learn more about this part of Solomons history
Post war population growth and development, changing economic
patterns, and improved communications and transportation brought an end to the isolated
community that was Solomons. Restaurants and gift shops have replaced general stores and
grocery stores of former years. State-of-the-art hotels and quaint Bed & Breakfast
inns have replaced much of the old landscape. Solomons' focus still lies with the waters
nearby as marinas, marine suppliers, charter boat operators, the pilot station and other
water-related businesses thrive in this sleepy waterside town. Tourism is now an important
part of the economy of Solomons and The Calvert Marine Museum is one of the county's
premier visitor destinations.
Read the following to find out more about
Solomons:
How
Things Have Changed: Solomons During the Twentieth Century, Part I -
1900-1949
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