Skipjack Heritage, Inc. | Deal Island, Somerset County, MD

Here, we invite you to discover who we are, what we do, and the passion that drives our dedication to preserving the rich maritime heritage of the Chesapeake Bay.

Our mission is rooted in a deep appreciation for the skipjacks—some of the most historic and legendary working sailing vessels ever built, sailed, and worked upon the waters of the Chesapeake Bay—and the generations of dedicated captains, watermen, and craftsmen who built them, sailed them, and kept their traditions alive.

Through preservation, education, and the sharing of stories, photographs, and historical records, we strive to honor their remarkable legacy and ensure that this treasured part of our Chesapeake Bay heritage lives on for generations to come.

Skipjack Heritage, Inc. highlights both working and non-working skipjacks that remain in use and seaworthy today, while also honoring the memory of past vessels—skipjacks, bugeyes, and others—that were once part of the lower Delmarva region. We celebrate not only the boats themselves, but also their owners, captains, crews, and families.

We are a close-knit and, in many ways, somewhat isolated community nestled within Somerset County, Maryland, where generations of families have chosen to remain, preserving a way of life deeply rooted in the land, the waterways, and the traditions of our ancestors. Our heritage is woven into the very fabric of our communities, reflected in the strength of our family ties, the character of our people, our distinctive Eastern Shore speech and dialect, our traditional foods, and our enduring connection to the Chesapeake Bay and its surrounding creeks, rivers, marshes, and tidal waters.

For generations, the Chesapeake Bay has been far more than a source of livelihood. Its waters have sustained our families, shaped our communities, influenced our customs and traditions, and instilled a spirit of independence, resourcefulness, determination, and resilience that continues to define our way of life today. These traditions are far more than cherished memories or remnants of a bygone era. They are our heritage, our identity, and an inseparable part of who we are. They represent the living legacy of those who came before us, passed down through generations of watermen, oystermen, fishermen, boatbuilders, and their families, whose lives were so deeply intertwined with the waters of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.

At Skipjack Heritage, Inc., we are dedicated to preserving, protecting, and sharing this remarkable maritime heritage for future generations. We owe that commitment to our history, to the countless ancestors who devoted their lives to working these waters with perseverance, sacrifice, dignity, and pride, and to those who will follow in their wake.

For when we preserve our heritage, we do far more than remember the past. We honor the lives and sacrifices of our ancestors, celebrate the traditions that continue to unite our communities, and ensure that future generations will know, understand, appreciate, and take pride in the legacy entrusted to them.

It has been one of our greatest honors and privileges to assume ownership and responsibility for preserving the iconic Chesapeake Bay skipjack, City of Crisfield, a vessel whose remarkable history is deeply intertwined with the watermen, families, and maritime traditions of Maryland's Lower Eastern Shore.

Built in 1949 for Gus Forbush of Crisfield, Maryland, by C. H. Rice and his son Ed in Reedville, Virginia, the City of Crisfield represents a proud chapter in the history of the Chesapeake Bay's working sailing fleet.

For many years, she was captained by the legendary Captain Arthur "Daddy Art" Daniels, one of the Chesapeake Bay's most beloved and respected watermen. His sons, Stan, Bob, and Terry Daniels, also took their turns at her helm, carrying on the family's proud tradition of dredging oysters and earning their livelihood upon the waters of the Bay.

Captain Art Daniels went home to be with the Lord in 2017, leaving behind a remarkable legacy of seamanship, perseverance, faith, and devotion to the Chesapeake Bay way of life.

Through the generosity of the Daniels family, the City of Crisfield (see additional link) was donated to Skipjack Heritage, Inc., entrusting our organization with the tremendous responsibility of preserving and restoring this historic vessel so that she might one day proudly spread her sails across the Chesapeake Bay once again. What followed has been far more than a simple restoration project. It has become a remarkable testament to the generosity, dedication, and determination of an entire community.

Through financial contributions, grants, donated materials, and countless hours of hard work, our local watermen, active and retired skipjack captains, skilled craftsmen, maritime enthusiasts, volunteers, and friends have come together with one common purpose: to bring this treasured piece of our maritime heritage back to life. Many have freely given their time, talents, resources, and considerable physical labor, asking for nothing in return except the satisfaction of knowing they helped preserve something truly meaningful for future generations. Our hope remains to complete her restoration by the end of 2026, allowing the City of Crisfield to return to the waters she once worked so faithfully.

For we are not simply restoring an old wooden sailing vessel. We are preserving the legacy of Captain Art Daniels, his family, the generations of Chesapeake Bay watermen who came before us, and a way of life that deserves never to be forgotten.

As of this writing, she has been completely fiberglassed! We have a new mast, boom, sails, and rigging ready to be installed. It has been a long and challenging restoration process, but with continued dedication, hard work, and support, we anticipate completing this remarkable undertaking in the coming months. And what a wonderful day of celebration that will be when she once again proudly raises her sails! captains wade, stoney and sean- 8.24.26.png

To each and every individual who has contributed in the past, continues to support our efforts today, or is considering making a generous financial donation, we extend our deepest and most heartfelt appreciation. Whether through monetary contributions, donated materials, countless hours of hands-on restoration work, or simply lending a helping hand, you have played an invaluable role in making our and others dream a reality.

Together, we are not simply restoring a skipjack or preserving a museum. We are keeping alive the history, traditions, and legacy of generations of Chesapeake Bay watermen for those who will follow in their wake.

Captain Art Daniels - Winner of the last three races on the City of Crisfield..jpg The Skipjack Heritage Museum is operated and supported by dedicated board members and local volunteers who share a common passion for preserving the rich maritime history, traditions, and way of life of the Chesapeake Bay and Lower Eastern Shore. Our knowledgeable staff and volunteers are always happy to answer questions, share stories, and help make your visit both enjoyable and educational. We also warmly welcome and encourage contributions of historical photographs, documents, personal recollections, and maritime artifacts. Every piece of history, helps us tell the stories of the watermen, their families, their communities, and the vessels that shaped our heritage.

Video- Just Passin’ Through - Eps 6: Skipjack Heritage President Harold "Captain Stoney" Whitelock and Saving Skipjacks

Captain Vince Leggett and his mentor Captain Earl White of Deal Island


President of Skipjack Heritage, Inc.: Capt. Stoney Whitelock

The day-to-day operations, museum maintenance and restoration efforts (such as work on the historic skipjack City of Crisfield) are run entirely by dedicated local volunteers and an active Board of Directors.

What you’ll see there:

Chesapeake Bay skipjack history and restoration projects
Maritime artifacts and model boats
Watermen heritage exhibits
Historic photographs from Deal Island, Smith Island and Tangier Sound
Ongoing restoration work on historic vessels such as the City of Crisfield

The museum is closely tied to the annual Deal Island Skipjack Races and Festival, one of Maryland’s longstanding maritime traditions.

Community visitors often describe it as small but packed with local history and staffed by knowledgeable volunteers.

Our Mission

The Skipjack Heritage Museum: Located in Chance, Maryland, the museum houses a vast collection of local artifacts, historical photographs, vintage oystering gear and models that document the lives of the watermen and families of Deal Island and the surrounding region.
Preserving the Skipjack legacy: The museum's primary mission is to preserve the history of the skipjack, America's oldest working sailing vessel, including its restoration and keeping the history of the greater Deal Island relavent. The organization actively works to preserve the physical symbols of Chesapeake history. This includes maintenance and restoration efforts for historic wooden skipjacks, such as the City of Crisfield, ensuring these traditional oyster-dredging vessels are kept alive for future generations.
Educating future generations: We use model boats, photos and artifacts that we house to the credit of our local community to educate both current and future generations about the life of a waterman.
Showcasing maritime heritage: Our museum exhibits highlight the island's commercial fishing industry, its captains and the broader maritime heritage of the upper Tangier Sound. To illustrate the special heritage of the communities of the greater Deal Island municipalities has a deep meaning to our communities and those who have unselfisly contributed to our cause. See our media page for pictures of items on display in the Museum.
Focus on local history: We document and preserve the stories and history of the local communities, going beyond just the maritime aspects to showcase the broader way of life in the area. The Skipjack being indicative to Deal Isand and its local communities was a hub for the thriving oyster trade. The boats were central to the economy, providing a livelihood for generations of local watermen and their families.
Community involvement: We rely on items and oral histories donated by local residents to build their collections, ensuring the community's direct involvement in preserving its own story.
Funding: Operations, museum admission and restoration projects are funded through community donations, local raffles, and modern fundraising platforms (like Zeffy) to keep admission and educational resources accessible to the public.

The importance of Skipjack Heritage, Inc. lies in the fact that these vessels and the communities built around, the various ethnicities represent the defining chapter of the Chesapeake Bay’s identity. The skipjack is not just a boat; it is a symbol of a unique American way of life, an ecological barometer and a triumph of local maritime engineering.

1. The Last Vestige of American Sail

The Chesapeake Bay skipjack is the last remaining fleet of working sail-powered fishing vessels in North America.

A Living Fossil: While other commercial fisheries transitioned entirely to motorized boats over a century ago, Maryland law historically mandated that oyster dredging under power was restricted, keeping commercial sail alive well into the 21st century.
Vanishing History: At the peak of the oyster industry in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, thousands of skipjacks sailed the bay. Today, only a handful of authentic, historic skipjacks remain afloat, making every surviving hull a priceless, living artifact.

2. A Masterpiece of Local Engineering

Skipjacks are a masterclass in adapting design to a specific environment. Developed in the 1890s as a cheaper, simpler alternative to the massive bugeyes and pungies, they were custom-built for the challenging conditions of the Chesapeake:

The Design: They feature a shallow-draft, V-bottom hull to navigate treacherous, shifting shoals and a massive, raked mast pushing a colossal sail area to provide the immense power needed to drag heavy iron oyster scrapes across the bay floor.
Built by Eye: Most historic skipjacks were built without formal blueprints. Local shipwrights used half-models and built them "by eye" using native timber like loblolly pine and white oak. Preserving this heritage keeps traditional wooden shipbuilding techniques alive.

3. Preserving the Watermen Culture

Skipjack Heritage, Inc. and the other maritime museums, organizations, Skipjack websites-organizations, etc. is ultimately about the people—the watermen, captains, families and tight-knit island and coastal communities (like Deal Island, Tilghman Island, and Smith Island) who braved brutal winter elements to harvest oysters.

A Distinct Way of Life: This culture fostered a unique dialect, rich oral traditions, distinct gospel and maritime music, and a deep, multi-generational reliance on the rhythms of nature.
Family Legacies: For many local residents, Skipjack Heritage Inc. is deeply personal. It represents the literal ancestry of their grandfathers and great-grandfathers who stood on those freezing decks to provide for their families.

4. Ecological and Economic Lessons

The history of the skipjack is inextricably linked to the environmental history of the Chesapeake Bay.

The Oyster Boom and Bust: The story of the skipjack tracks the rise, over-harvesting and modern restoration efforts of the eastern oyster.
A Lesson in Sustainability: Studying how these communities balanced economic survival with the health of the bay’s natural resources provides invaluable lessons for modern marine conservation and sustainable fishing practices.

5. Keeping the Tradition Alive

Organizations like Skipjack Heritage, Inc., along with annual events like the Triple Crown of Skipjack Racing

in September-- Labor Day, " (#1) Deal Island Skipjack Race, (#2) Skipjack Heritage Days; Sandy Point Skipjack Race and the (#3) Choptank Heritage Festival; Cambridge Skipkack Race ensure that this history doesn't just sit in a textbook or a dusty display case. By maintaining the vessels, documenting family genealogies and celebrating the community's roots, they allow new generations to step aboard a piece of living history, feel the pull of the canvas and understand the grit it took to build a life on the water.

6. Who visits the Skipjack Heritage Museum?

Descendants & Local Families

A significant portion of visitors includes families rooted in the lower Delmarva and Tangier Sound regions.

Many visit specifically to trace their roots, explore local historical documentation or view artifacts, photographs and models connected to their ancestors.
It's common for grandchildren and relatives of original boatbuilders, captains and crews to visit to see the legacy of their family's work preserved firsthand.

Maritime History Enthusiasts & Modelers

The museum attracts researchers, historians and hobbyists fascinated by North America’s last commercial sailing fleet.

Visitors include those highly interested in the design, restoration, and historical accuracy of classic skipjacks (such as the City of Crisfield and others).
Model ship builders and naval history buffs frequently visit to study the extensive collection of detailed boat models and authentic, weathered tools of the trade on display.

Heritage Tourists & "Day-Trippers"

Travelers exploring the Eastern Shore and Somerset County often stop by to immerse themselves in authentic regional culture. These visitors are drawn to:

The museum's exhibits on the demanding lifestyle of oyster dredging and the working sailboats that enabled oysters to be harvested from the Chesapeake Bay waters, their captains and crew.
The unique local dialect (dating all way back to the 1600s, the British occupation of the area, etc.), faith and traditions of a close-knit, insulated island community. The majority of Skipjack Heritage’s volunteer and museum staff, along with members of its Board of Directors, are direct descendants of the original settlers of Smith Island, Deal Island and the surrounding connected communities of Somerset County whose family roots trace back to the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
Our deep ancestral ties to the Chesapeake Bay and Tangier Sound region provide the organization with a unique connection to the maritime traditions, watermen culture and local history it works to preserve. Through family stories, inherited knowledge and generations of experience on the water, our descendants continue the legacy of the communities that helped shape the heritage of Maryland’s lower Eastern Shore.
Like many long-established isolated bay communities, the families of Smith Island, Deal Island, Tangier Sound and neighboring areas are deeply interconnected through generations of marriage and shared ancestry. In many cases, members of the organization are indeed distant cousins whose family lines intertwine through some of the region’s oldest surnames and settlements. That close kinship reflects the strong communal bonds that have long defined the culture and heritage of Somerset County’s island and waterfront communities. We all have ten fingers and ten toes:>)
Through family stories, inherited knowledge and generations of experience on the water, our descendants continue the legacy of the communities that helped shape the heritage of Maryland’s lower Eastern Shore. Many of our families have remained rooted in the Chesapeake Bay region for generations, preserving traditions tied to the water, boating, fishing, crabbing, oystering and island life.
Over generations, a relatively small number of founding families became deeply rooted in the region. Many modern Deal Island, Chance (Rock Creek), Dames Quarter, Fairmont, Smith Island, Mt Vernon, Oriole and Tangier Sound, etc. families descend from these early settlers. Common ancestral surnames historically connected to the area include: (Do you share a surname from the below list?)

Abbott	Crockett	Horsey	Roberts	Wallace
Anderson	Dashiell	Jones	Ruark	Webster
Bounds	Disharoon	Lawson	Shores	White
Bozman	Dize	Laird	Simms	Whitelock
Bradshaw	Dryden	Marshall	Simpkins
Brown	Evans	Mister	Smith
Collier	Hitch	Parks	Thomas
Corbin	Horner	Pruitt	Tyler	Additional Surnames

The early settlers of Smith Island and Somerset County were overwhelmingly of English ancestry, with smaller contributions from Welsh, Scottish, Irish, and later some German families. Most arrived during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, many migrating northward from Virginia’s Eastern Shore or directly from England. Enslaved Africans and free Black watermen were also part of Somerset County’s history from the colonial period onward.

Educational Groups & School Field Trips

As part of its core outreach mission, the museum hosts students and youth groups. These educational trips introduce younger generations to marine science, local ecology and the traditional maritime skills that shaped the Chesapeake Bay's history.

Donate to preserve and protect the skipjacks

“Each donation, small or large, contributes to “Preserving the Heritage” of our State Boat, the Skipjack.
Would you consider supporting our mission to preserve, maintain and benefit from these historic Maryland boats in our Chesapeake Bay?”

QR code to donate to Skipjack Heritage

Feel free to explore our site and browse the various histories, which will be updated regularly. You’ll also find plenty of photos that help bring each subject to life and give you a better sense of what’s being shared.