Worcester Democrat and the ledger-enterprise. (Pocomoke City, Md.) 1921-1953, 1942-09-04
The EASTERN SHORE
OF MARYLAND
No. 6
BY EBEN HEARNE

The many changes and improve
ments (all for the betterment OF the
jewellers of the Eastern Shore) that
have been brought into existence dur
ING the passing of the years have
exerted very marked Influence IN
the daily routine of life. A vast
number of people have been depend
ent upon the products of the land.
When the farmer is prosperous, 9TH
ers share in the benefit. Before the
introduction of farming machinery
the cultivation of the soil was carried
on in a very primitive manner, and
much of the work, now performed by
machinery, was done by hand. Many
people now living remember well
when wheat was extensively grown
and when it was reaped or cut down
either by sickle or by scythe with
its attached cradle and the grain
were threshed out on platform by
being beaten out by fail. Oats al
so were threshed in the same way.
Water mills for grinding grain
were in use from an early period OF
the Shores history. The motive pow
er for these was furnished by an ar
rangement which caused water to fall
into compartments built around the
rim of an immense wheel which caus-
ed it to revolve. This wheels axle
was attached to system OF cog
wheels. By the revolution OF the
large wheel, motion was communl-
Gated to the machinery which caused
the ponderous mill stones to crush
the grain. These water mills were
built along side of creek where
dam was built which caused the water
to collect into lake or mill pond and
at the side of bridge or bridges
floodgates were constructed for the
purpose of storing the water in the
pond, to be used as the propelllng
force for the revolution of the fly
wheel when the floodgates were rails
ed at the side of the bridge to enable
the water of the pond to flow out.
When steam flour mills and steam
saw mills came into practical use,
water mills were discarded and be-
came extinct, and mill ponds have al
so gone out of existence. For many
wears the Eastern Shore, being
heavy producer, was large store
house for wheat and corn and during
the second half of the last century
large quantities of the staple grains
were raised and shipped to the city
markets of the middle states by
schooners which piled the numerous
rivers. Since the introduction OF
machinery for different kinds of in
dustrial work another large industry
has developed on the Eastern Shore,
and that is the Canning enterprise.
The canning of various kinds of vege-
tables and fruits has grown to i'm
mense proportions. The predomina-
ting vegetables are tomatoes, and
peas and in smaller quantities are al
so canned sweet corn, sweet potatoes,
beans, fruits and berries.
Thousands of acres of land are re-
quired to furnish these products and
thousands of people are employed in
cultivating them and preparing them
for market. The largest number of
canning factories are found in the
four lower counties of the Shore,
Dorchester, Wicomico, Somerset and
Worcester.
There was time when there was
not a single bridge spanning single
one of the several rivers of the East
ern Shore When it was necessary to
cross a river or creek, like the In
dians, the early settlers had to make
use Of a canoe or small boat. Away
back in the 18th century, the settlers
began to construct ferries and there
was time when every river on the
Shore could boast of more than one
ferry and in some cases town would
have the cognomen Ferry" attached
to its name--an instance of this was
Stevens Ferry, the original name of