Talbot Mystery History Week #9

Can you identify the prominent Talbot County building in this Photo?  It is hidden in plain sight. Send your answer to [email protected]. The Spy Agents who got it right last week are listed below.

Week 8 was a two-parter and Agents for the Spy were not easily tricked. The photo was of the Honeymoon Bridge and the James Adams Floating Theatre tied up at Kirby’s Shipyard in St. Michaels. The theatre brought a troupe of actors to villages up and down the Bay for more than 25 years. For more information on the theater and its history, go to www.floatingtheatre.org.

Spy Agent Bob Murray was quick to get but the location and the contents of the photo correct.  “The Photo is of the James Adams Floating Theater at what is now the Higgins Yacht Yard. Photo was taken at the Navy Point end of Honeymoon Bridge.”

Agent Bryon Reilly filed this confidential report: “The large barge is the floating theater moored at what is now Higgins Yacht Yard . Photo is taken from the bulkhead of the now Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. The dock that the barge was tied to was most likely Kirby’s Shipyard then.”

Glenn Baker, another special agent for the Spy, writes, “Looking back towards St Michaels across the Honeymoon Bridge with the floating theater on the left. Could be the James Adams, active 1914-1941 owned by Nina Howard of St Michaels 1933-1941.”

Cliff Charland gets partial credit for his comment, “ Can’t say I know the location, but the article also asks about the large structure in the middle, which appears to be the floating theater that made the rounds on the bay many years ago, and which inspired the musical, ‘Showboat.’”

Eddie Higgins Jr. was straight to the point with his reply, “Honeymoon Bridge St. Michaels Md.”

Helen Van Fleet showed off her local knowledge. “Kirby’s boat yard in middle. Standing on Burns St looking up Cherry St and Honeymoon Bridge”.

Finally, Jean Stavely should have gone with her first guess. “Looks like St Michaels, but from the looks of the sturdy dock, going to guess Claiborne ferry dock.”

 

Winners for Week 7.  Spy Agent Steve Hamblin was the first to identify the last Mystery History photograph. “Tree looks a lot like the late, great Wye Oak, but a long time ago, as the buildings in the photo are all gone.” Steve used to have a farm in the Wye Mills area.

The Wye Oak was the State Tree of Maryland. It was the largest white oak in the state and sprang from an acorn in the early 1500s. The state bought it from its private own in 1939.

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources website gave this account of the final days of the great tree:

“As it was a gift of nature, nature determined the big tree’s course. On June 6, 2002 the mighty Wye Oak succumbed to time and the elements as its massive trunk collapsed during a severe thunderstorm, ending the life of Maryland’s oldest citizen. At its end, the tree measured 31 feet 8 inches in circumference, was 96 feet tall and had an average crown spread of 119 feet. The main bole of the tree weighed over 61,000 pounds.” Other Spy Agents to get it right are Tracey Munson, who knew right away that it was the Wye Oak and John Hutchison who wrote, “I grew up at Wye Landing, just outside Wye Mills. I miss that tree … wonderful childhood memories.”

And finally, Talbot County’s premier furniture craftsmen Jim McMartin and Jim Beggins recognized the tree, writing, “We know that tree intimately.That is the famous Wye Oak, from which we crafted the Governor’s Desk a few years ago. Click on our website and you can read all about the desk – it was an honor to be able to give that historic, beautiful tree a new life as an important piece of Maryland’s history. Go here. To read more about the Wye Oak and its history, go to the DNR’s website

 

 

 

 

 

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