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Photo credit: Paul Baker Touart, 03/2004

Deal Island Historic District

Inventory No.: S-371

Other Name(s): Great Devil's Island; Devil's Island; Deil's Island; Deals Island

Date Listed: 9/6/2006

Location: Deal Island, Somerset County

Category: District

Period/Date of Construction: c. 1815-1954

Resources: 99 (81 contributing, 18 non-contributing)

Description: The village of Deal Island is located in the northwest section of a long peninsula bounded by the Manokin River to the south and Tangier Sound to the north and west. The island is connected to the mainland by a bridge that carries Deal Island Road (MD 363) over Law's Thorofare, a narrow strait that forms the island's northeastern boundary. Deal Island Harbor, still an active marina for fishing boats and an occasional skipjack, is located at the north end of the community adjacent to the bridge. Bordered by low land and marsh, Deal Island Road winds through the upper end of the island along the highest ridge of land. Many of the principal structures that define the Deal Island Historic District are found along the road, with a number of additional structures on the side roads and lanes that branch off the Deal Island Road. The south end of the district is lower in elevation and is characterized by an expanse of open space defined largely by marsh. The most common house type found in the district is the two or 2 1/2-story, three-bay, single-pile form, sometimes with a cross gable, dating from the late 19th century through the first quarter of the 20th. Also found in the district are examples of the regional stepped or "telescope" house form. Nationally popular early-20th century domestic architecture, such as Queen Anne, foursquare, bungalow, and Colonial Revival are also found. Of the few commercial structures in the district, the 1912 brick Bank of Somerset is the most distinctive. One Greek Revival-style church and two in the Gothic Revival style contribute to the district. Deal Island Road continues south of the historic district to the village of Wenona; due to a large stretch of marsh and open ground between the two villages, Wenona is not included within the limits of the district boundary. The 433-acre district contains 81 buildings and three cemeteries that contribute to its significance.

Significance: The Deal Island Historic District is locally significant for its architecture, as a representative collection of 19th and 20th century structures which reflect the livelihoods and priorities of island inhabitants and their institutions. Deal Island is one of two islands in Somerset County which have been inhabited continuously since the 17th century. The surviving dwellings, churches, and commercial buildings that define the village span the period between 1815 and the mid-20th century, and the collection of standing structures forms a diverse and distinctive representation of architectural traditions embraced by the range of island residents who resided here over the course of two centuries. Aside from the c. 1815 Federal-style Severn Mister House, and a portion of the c. 1825-30 Anderson House, the housing stock on Deal Island dates from the period stretching from 1870-1950, and includes a number of distinctive building traditions that are locally significant. Particularly evident are a number of stepped or "telescope" dwellings that are indigenous to Somerset County and the Eastern Shore in general. While common throughout the Eastern Shore as a whole, the community of Deal Island survives with one of the largest concentrations of stepped format service wing dwellings in Somerset County. Deal Island Historic District derives additional significance for its association with Reverend Joshua Thomas (1776-1853). Born in Somerset County on Potato Neck, Joshua Thomas was drawn to the Methodist religion as espoused by its early missionaries who traveled through the lower Shore during the last quarter of the 18th century. After his conversion at the age of 29, Thomas figured prominently in the growth and development of Methodism on the lower eastern shores of Maryland and Virginia, particularly serving the island and coastal villages in the region. He maintained a large presence on Deal Island by ultimately settling there, and he is buried next to the meeting house that bears his name. The period of significance for this district begins c. 1815, the approximate construction date of the Severn Mister House, the earliest extant in the district, and continues to 1954, by which date the historic character of the district had become fully established.

District Resources (99) (81 contributing, 18 non-contributing)

From associated listing in National Register nomination form. C = Contributing, NC = non-contributing, blank = not evaluated.

Address	Status	Resource Name and MIHP (if any)
23332 Benton Road	C
23340 Benton Road	C
23354 Benton Road	C
Deal Island Road	C
Deal Island Road	C
10019 Deal Island Road	C
10029 Deal Island Road	C
10030 Deal Island Road	C
10054 Deal Island Road	C
10055 Deal Island Road	C
10060 Deal Island Road	C
10067 Deal Island Road	C
10095 Deal Island Road	C
10128 Deal Island Road	C
10140 Deal Island Road	C
10151 Deal Island Road	C
10160 Deal Island Road	C
10161 Deal Island Road	C
10165 Deal Island Road	C
10166 Deal Island Road	C
10175 Deal Island Road	C
10178 Deal Island Road	C
10187 Deal Island Road	C
10195 Deal Island Road	C
10198 Deal Island Road	C
10206 Deal Island Road	C
11048 Deal Island Road	C
9571 Deal Island Road	C	S-372 -- John Wesley Methodist Episcopal Church
9584 Deal Island Road	C	John Wesley M. E. Church Hall
9760 Deal Island Road	C
9782 Deal Island Road	C
9804 Deal Island Road	C
9834 Deal Island Road	C
9846 Deal Island Road	C
9857 Deal Island Road	C
9892 Deal Island Road	C	St. John's Methodist Church Parsonage
9940 Deal Island Road	C
9990 Deal Island Road	C
Deal Island Road (MD 363)	C	S-46 -- Bradshaw House
9802 Deal Island Road (MD 363)	C	S-45 -- Noah Webster house
9883 Deal Island Road (MD 363)	C	S-44 -- Joshua Thomas Chapel (Deal Island Methodist Church)
9883 Deal Island Road (MD 363)	C	S-365 -- St. John's Methodist Episcopal Church
10054 Deal Island Road (MD 363)	C	S-368 -- Deal Island Barber Shop
10135 Deal Island Road (MD 363)	C	S-366 -- Old Deal Island Bank
9800 Deal Island Rd (MD 363)	C	S-369 -- Isabella White House
9806 Deal Island Rd (MD 363)	C	S-370 -- Laura Bozman House
10106 Deal Island Road (or 10048?)	C	S-367 -- Marcellus T. Wilson House (Lorena Webster House)
10116 Deal lsland Road	C
Edelen Webster Road	C
23121 Edelen Webster Road	C
23124 Edelen Webster Road	C
23145 Edelen Webster Road	C
23168 Edelen Webster Road	C
23178 Edelen Webster Road	C
23183 Edelen Webster Road	C
23188 Edelen Webster Road	C
23195 Edelen Webster Road	C
Edge of Deal Island harbor	C
Ford Road	C
9780 Ford Road	C
9790 Ford Road	C
9812 Ford Road	C
23310 H. Milbome Road	C
Harrison Road	C
23180 Harrison Road	C
23194 Harrison Road	C
10220 Hotel Road	C
10226 Hotel Road	C
10236 Hotel Road	C
10244 Hotel Road	C
10270 Hotel Road	C	Foskey Family Partnership
23232 Lola Wheatley Road	C	Island Seafood
North side of Harrison Road	C
10369 Ralph Abbott Road	C	Island Seafood Inc.
10385 Ralph Abbott Road	C	Shellfish Management & Propagation
Richard Webster Road	C	Somerset County Commissioners
Richard Webster Road	C
10318 Richard Webster Road	C
23230 Rolfe Lane	C
23151 Soundside Estates Road	C
23161 Soundside Estates Road	C
23293 Benton Road	NC
23330 Benton Road	NC
Deal Island Road	NC
10016 Deal Island Road	NC
10051 Deal Island Road	NC	United States Post Office
10080 Deal Island Road	NC
10090 Deal Island Road	NC	Deal Island/Chance Fire Dept.
10157 Deal Island Road	NC	Bell Atlantic
9774 Deal Island Road	NC
9863 Deal Island Road	NC
23213 Edelen Webster Road	NC
9819 Ford Road	NC
23150 Harrison Road	NC
10275 Hotel Road	NC
Ralph Abbott Road	NC
10315 Richard Webster Road	NC
23175 Soundside Estates Road	NC
23191 Soundside Estates Road	NC