This month, it's time for a little background of unique facts about this little island called Chincoteague, just off the Eastern Shore of Virginia and to the east of the Delmarva Peninsula.
The history of human activity in Chincoteague, on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, begins with the Native Americans. Settlers from Europe swooped in and overtook the land in the late 17th century, but until then, the Chincoteague Indians used it as a place to gather shellfish. They aren't known to have lived there, though, as the island lacked suitable soil for their agriculture. Marshland isn't usually great for growing much of anything except reeds.
This was what led to the origin of the ponies on Assateague, though there are legends reported of a Spanish shipwreck which left the ponies as cargo to swim to the nearest island. Historians believe the legend of the shipwreck simply became entwined with the history of the ponies until it was accepted as "truth." Funny how history does that from time to time. Makes me wonder just how much of unrecorded history is truly fact or merely embellished truths spoken from generation to generation until the truth and the embellishment can no longer be separated. Have you ever come across details like this?
For the next hundred years or so, the island remained a place to house livestock for owners living on the mainland of Virginia. Then, following the Revolutionary War, residents realized the potential of business and industry through the abundance of shellfish in the area. This industry became so big, shipments went as far north as New England to the cities steadily growing there, and as I mentioned last month, my grandfather's family lived here. It was shellfish being provided to the White House under President Woodrow Wilson which led to my great-grandfather's cousin marrying the president while he was in office, leaving me with a family connection to "American royalty."
Throughout these years of shellfish and seafood industry, Chincoteague thrived. In 1876, a rail line completed a stop just 5 miles from the island with a steamship completing the distance. This gave oystermen an efficient means of getting their shellfish to market and began the wave of tourists escaping the city heat in the summer. Tourism hasn't slowed since.
* If you had an island similar to Chincoteague just a short swim across a narrow channel from where you lived, what would you do with it?
* Are you a fan of shellfish or seafood? What's your favorite?
* What recounting of an event do you know where the real truth has been fused with legend or unrecorded history? How much is true and what is legend?
Leave answers to these questions or any comments on the post below. Next month, I'll expand on the history of Pony Penning Day. Though the official celebrations are only 90 years old, you might be surprised as just how far back they go! Come back on the 9th of March to find out more.