HISTORICAL COMMENTS BY GEORGE CHEVALLIER 9-22-12

THE WICOMICO RIVER 

While it is reasonable to assume that the river was used by Native Americans for hundreds, if not thousands, of years before the modern era, life on the river as we now know it started around 1665 when Colonel Isaac Handy settled on its shores about 3 miles south of present day Salisbury. His land was a grant known as Pemberton’s Good Will and is still preserved by Wicomico County as Pemberton Park. 

Colonel Handy set up his first business at the fork of the river where the present Main St. bridge now crosses the river in Salisbury. At that time, the site was known as Handy’s Landing. It remained so for the next 60 years when the name was changed to Salisbury after the town in Great Britain of the same name.

The river was deep enough in 1730 for ocean going vessels to navigate as far as New Nithsdale, located at the junction of the Wicomico River and Rockawalkin Creek. Lighter ships could come up as far as Cotton Patch Wharf, presently a residential area on Riverside Drive in Salisbury and many unloaded up
Tony Tank Creek located just south of there.

The river was dammed in two places in Salisbury, significantly adding to the value of Salisbury as a center of commerce in the early days.

The earliest dam was established on the east prong in 1743 by William Venables. The power generated by this dam was used to operate a grist mill for more than 150 years. The adjoining property was known as Mill Grove and on it the owner had his home. The spot where the mill was located is currently occupied by the Wicomico Regional Library on South Division St. The dam was where the current South Division St. bridge now crosses the east prong of the river. The dam burst in 1909, letting out most of the water contained in Humphries Lake, which had been formed by the damming of the river so many years ago, and ending any mill operations generated by the dam. Until the dam burst, there was no East Main St. The area covered by Humphries Lake can be visualized today by following the depression of land between South Division St. on the west, Route 50 to the north, and the Salisbury City Park to the east and south.

The second dam was constructed in 1750 by a Mr. Bailey. This dam was located on the north prong where Isabella St. crosses the river. He built two mills on either side of the dam. On the east side he built a grist and planing mill and on the west side he had a saw mill.

Many lumber mills sprang up along the river. The abundance of old growth pine in the area contributed much to the economy with the river as a means to move it. The first lumber mill was built by George W. Parsons. It was located on the north side of the river where a ship building business now exists.

George Parsons’ brother, Milton A. Parsons, also had a saw mill and a grist mill about two miles downriver from Salisbury. The Parsons brothers’ mills were the first mills to operate in Wicomico County.

The first effort to clear the river bottom in Salisbury was done in 1910. At that time the mud flats on the north prong were removed. In 1927 $215,000 was authorized by the U.S. Congress to dredge the river bottom. Apparently, this was not sufficient because another $272,000 was secured from the Federal Government in February, 1939, to dredge the river to a depth of 13 feet with a channel 150 feet wide.

The first harbormaster was Charles E. Harper. He had been mayor of Salisbury from 1904 to 1910. He had such a keen interest in the Wicomico River in Salisbury that he kept records of vessels using the river and their cargo for a period of 42 years. So, on July 1, 1931, he officially became the harbormaster.

For many years, the only method of crossing the river was where the Main St. bridge is now located. There was originally a pivot bridge across the river there. This was eventually replaced by the current drawbridge. There was also a bridge over the east prong connecting the downtown area to the area south of the river by way of Camden St. There were many wholesale seafood outlets near this bridge. In the early days of Salisbury, what we know now as Main St. was called Bridge St. and Market St. was named Dock St. So, the names of the streets reflected the importance of the river to Salisbury’s existence.