From Waterman's Home to Fishing Club
The story of the Captain Salem Avery House mirrors that of Shady Side and the larger history of the Chesapeake Bay region.
1860-1921 The Avery Family Home
In the mid-19th century, a young man came to Shady Side from New York to make his fortune as a waterman. Over-dredging had exhausted Northern oyster beds, and Captain Salem Avery was just one of many mariners drawn to the Chesapeake by its abundant oyster stock. Avery married Lucretia Weedon of Mayo (just across the river), and in 1860 they built a home here in "The Great Swamp" where they raised seven children. A buy boat captain at the height of Chesapeake oystering, Salem Avery bought oysters from local "tongers" and took the catch to market in Baltimore. Captain Salem Avery died in 1887. Avery's son Andrew and his wife Augusta lived in the home until 1921.
Couldn't go in there without Aunt Augusta feeding you! Oh, she'd feed you all the time—crabs, oyster, fish and hog meat. The average house had hogs as much as they had children.
— Erwood Avery, Captain Salem Avery's grandson
Soon after acquiring Captain Avery's home, the National Masonic Fishing and Country Club removed the original one-story kitchen and built a large addition in its place which you can see today. The addition featured a spacious
assembly hall and eight private homes. The old house was divided into boys and girls dormitories.
1923-1989 National Masonic Fishing and Country Club
In 1920 a group of Masons, mostly Jewish, from Washington, D.C. joined together to establish a "fishing club." In an era when American Jews were denied access to many beach communities, Club members sought a place of their own on the water and in 1923 purchased the Avery house. Elected as leaders were the sons of Samuel Gompers, founder of the American Federation of Labor. For the next 65 years a shifting group of extended families spent summer weekends relaxing here by the Bay. While husbands went out fishing, wives visited on the porch, keeping an eye on the children playing on the lawn or swimming from the pier. With kitchen and dorms, life in Shady Side provided a rustic contrast to the comfortable suburban homes these families enjoyed during the week. Starting in 1957, an outdoor pool was the focus of summer fun.
It's sort of a family place, but sort of a club, and sort of a country place. It was a big, old house where everybody lived together, one big family.
— Annette Kamerow Gould, Fishing Club Member (1951-1972)
A National Register of Historic Places Site
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