Dorchester County Public Library

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The George L. Windmill: A Sketch of the Reconstructed Historical Landmark

Authored by Tiffany Sheppard

This drawing, sketched by Peggy Wroten in the summer of 1974, depicts the George L. Windmill located in Cambridge, Maryland. The windmill was reconstructed in the year 1972, after the original windmill was destroyed in a blizzard in March of 1888. The windmill was reconstructed at the original location on Gary’s Creek.

Artist Peggy Wroten, born in the year 1944, spent a majority of her life in the Neck District of Cambridge, Maryland. (Wroten 2022). Peggy enjoyed drawing for fun in primary school, and knew she had something special when children in school would ask her to draw pictures for them (Wroten 2022). Wroten credits God for her artistic abilities, stating that her “talent is a God given gift” (Wroten 2022). Peggy Wroten would go on to create many works of art including award winning duck carvings, and paintings of waterfowl and other historical landmarks such as Old Trinity Church and Blackwater Refuge, both located near Church Creek, Maryland. Mrs. Wroten also illustrated two children’s books titled The Parable of the Birds, written by Peggy Mayers Litschert and published in 2004, and We’re All Special, written by Joyce Taylor Dennis and published in 2009.

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Tales of the Chesapeake

Authored by Kate Yelland

Image of a first edition copy of George Alfred Townsend’s Tales of the Chesapeake, a collection of short stories and poems about the Maryland shore. Published in 1880.

Tales of the Chesapeake by George Alfred Townsend is a 138-year-old collection of stories and poems about the Delaware and Maryland shores. At the age of thirty-five, Townsend, or GATH as he often used as a penname, wrote Talesafter re-visiting the Eastern Shore where he spent time as a child. The book contains tales of the rural waterfront communities along the Chesapeake Bay (Wiebe 2014). The red, cloth-bound volume is one of just a few works for which GATH is still remembered.  Continue reading →