Holland Island Preservation Foundation
To Save an Island
Holland Island, Eastern Ridge circa 1910
Latest Developments from Holland Island:
Diane Reuter and Clara Stephens join the Board of Directors of the Holland Island
Preservation Foundation.
Click on the News Flash link for more information.
The People Of Holland Island
We will now begin featuring those people who spent all, or part of their lives as
residents of Holland Island. If you have a picture of an ancestor meeting this
criteria, send us an image of that person along with their name and a brief
description of their life on Holland Island.
We will be happy to feature them right here.
Margaret Jane Powley Parks
Born on Holland Island (b1847-d1923), married Jesse Thomas Parks
She was the daughter of Nicholas Powley, (b1806-d1862). Nicholas is buried in the main
cemetery on Holland Island.
IMPORTANT NOTICE
This has been a busy summer for us. We have obtained a 100' steel barge courtesy of Gee Mclain
of Cambridge, Md. It was towed down and placed North of the house where it is effectively
being used as a jetty. We are busy filling sandbags to protect the house and we have planted
a one-quarter acre grove of trees on the Island's West side.
Our efforts have been featured on the NBC Today Show with Katie Curic and Bob Dotson reporting.
The entire spot can be viewed here: MSNBC
Maryland Public Television has completed the taping of their special on the island which will
air in November.
We have volunteer groups ready to come over and help with our preservation
efforts.
However, our ability to maximize the efforts of these groups is hampered by our lack of equipment
and funding. WE NEED YOUR HELP! We desperately need a tracked skid-loader. We have a very
small un-tracked one that cannot be modified to accept tracks and it is not very effective in the
sand that we must work in. Please contact us if you have one that you would like to donate or
if you would like to contribute funds to help us purchase one.
This year has been a critical one for wildlife. Around 1,000 brown pelicans have found a nesting
home at the island. Over 150 hatchlings are being raised on the middle section of the island just
South of the house. A bit of this scenery was on the NBC Special and MPT will feature the pelicans
and their hatchlings together with their tremendous vocalization. Do not miss it.
Our Goals For This Year
While being committed to the long-term goal of acquiring dredge materials, the crisis at the Island
requires immediate action. We are actively engaged in repairing some of the damage
done by Hurricane Isobel. Our wharf was totally destroyed and the storm surge went through the
only house left on the Island. 60 percent of the trees that make up the rookery were destroyed.
We have replaced part of the wharf and are repairing the house. We have replanted many trees and
erected two new osperey-nesting stands. Critical to all of this is protecting the shoreline. We
must install two rock jetties along with 400 feet of geo-textile fabric tubing. Rocks must be barged
over from Wenona, in Somerset County. Please help us to purchase and transport rocks to the Island.
Your contribution of $600 will purchase 20 tons of rock delivered to the boat ramp at Wenona.
We are asking for your help in locating a small barge. If we can find a donor with a 40 or 50 foot
barge, our efforts will be helped tremendously. The IRS allows the market value of the barge as a
tax deduction for charitable purposes.
And now back to our regularly scheduled program...
Location
Holland Island is the southern most part of Dorchester County, Maryland.
Its western side faces the Chesapeake Bay and its east side faces Holland
Straits. All sides of the one and one-half mile long island are surrounded
by shallow water of from one to three feet of depth.
Ecological Value
The island acts as a buffer to a vast area of Holland Straits. Its status as
a barrier island to thousands of acres of wetlands to the east of it
provides protection from the Chesapeake Bay storms that typically impact
the east side of the bay.
Wildlife
Having the only trees within an eight-mile radius, Holland Island has
several large heron rookeries. Hundreds of other shorebirds and waterfowl
also nest here each year. Egrets, curlues, oyster catchers, ospreys,
mallards and black ducks, geese, swan, gulls, terns and now even bald eagles
make their nests the island. Brown pelicans are frequently seen gliding
along the island's shores. Diamondback terrapins lay their eggs on the sand
bars and thousands of fiddler crabs reside in the cord grass. Some
unlikely visitors also come to the island from time to time. Whitetailed
deer sometimes swim across miles of open water to feed there. And
migrating songbirds often stop for a rest in the trees during the spring and
autumn.
History
Settled in the last decades of the 1600s, Holland Island reached its peak
population between 1890 and 1910. By 1910 approximately 360 people lived
on the distinct ridges of high ground.
There were several general stores, a grade school, church, Red Men's Hall,
post office, a full-time doctor and minister, and a thriving fleet of
workboats, including schooners and 55 skipjacks.
There were more than 60 homes on the island. The typical home was
roomy with many windows for the family to keep an eye on the sails of the boats
working in the distance and to provide light during the daylight hours.
By 1920 the erosion from wind and tide was taking its toll on the island's
bay (west) side. The islanders tried to import stones to build walls along
the shore and even sank some old boats to slow the erosion, but lacking modern
equipment and techniques, their efforts failed. By 1922 most of the
residents of Holland Island were forced to leave. Many residents moved their
homes, piece by piece, to mainland sites. Today, only one home remains.
The island's size has been reduced by erosion from approximately 160
acres in 1915 to approximately 80 acres today. If left unprotected,
this historical and environmental treasure will be lost.
Click here to see a map of the erosion at Holland Island over time
Not all the residents of Holland Island left their homes. Many still
rest in the island's burial sites. Two graveyards are left on the island,
and one has been lost beneath the waves. Some families moved their
loved-one's remains before they were claimed by the sea to the graveyard
beside the old church. Of the two remaining burial sites there is a family plot
of a dozen graves. The other, is the main cemetery with over 50
graves. Unless steps are taken now, those buried at these sites will
be lost to the relentless tide.
The Chesapeake Bay Erosion Crisis
In 1999, the Maryland General Assembley, conserned about the rapid loss
of Bay shorelines and wildlife habitat, passed Resolution 13. This resolution
requested that the Governor appoint a task force to study the issue. In early
2000, the Task Force published their findings. On page 8 of the Executive
Summary, there is alarming information about erosion in the Bay. The Summary notes:
"The State of Maryland loses approximately 260 acres of tidal shoreline due to
erosion each year, resulting in a loss of public and private property, historic
and cultural sites, recreational beaches, productive farmland and forested areas."
"Each year erosion carries approximately 5.7 million pounds of nitrogen and 4.2
million pounds of phosphorus into the Chesapeake Bay, significantly degrading water
quality."
"Each year erosion contributes approximately 11 million cubic yards of sediment into
the Chesapeake Bay, intensifying the need for navigational dredging and diminishing
water quality due to increased turbidity."
Dorchester County is the major loser in the erosion problem comprising 54% of total loss.
Our Vision
Our goal is to stabilize and preserve this beautiful island, not only
for the people that once lived there, but also for the wildlife that
thrives there still. With modern tools and techniques, this fragile
ecosystem can be saved from ultimate destruction. Your job is to care.
The Holland Island Preservation Foundation was founded in 1995 by
Stephen L. White. As a former waterman and Methodist minister who has
seen the island's changes since 1951, he decided to take action.
The Holland Island Preservation Foundation is a nonprofit organization
recognized by the Internal Revenue Service with the 509(a)(1) status
reserved for public charities.
All donations are tax deductable.
WITH YOUR HELP WE CAN SAVE THIS VALUABLE RESOURCE!
You Can Help!
Each year more and more of the trees fall and valuable wetlands are lost.
The shoreline shrinks and the silt and sand that erodes from the island
buries submerged aquatic vegetation and shellfish beds.
We intend to save the island, save the trees and wildlife and the
cemetaries. We intend to halt the silting over of precious plants and
animals and restore this historic treasure.
We need your financial support. Every dollar counts! Even if you can
only spare a few bucks, you will be helping to save our wetlands!
Every donation qualifies for a deduction by the IRS.
Consult your financial advisor for details.
Receipts will be sent by return mail
The Holland Island Preservation Foundation
23290 Custom House Rd.
Deal Island, Md. 21821
Phone: 410-784-2185
email: hipf@verizon.net
This space was donated by Delmarva Online, The Eastern Shore's Premier Internet Provider.
The Foundation is very grateful for their support.
The Holland Preservation Foundation is a Non-Profit Public Charity (501)(c)(3)
Page Created:7 NOV 1995
Last Updated:21 FEB 2005