Blackwell, Parsons present info on Chesapeake Gateways, Nanticoke Heritage Byway to National Parks Service

Last month, Jim Blackwell of the Seaford Museum and Nanticoke Heritage Byway, and Sussex County Historic Preservation Planner Dan Parsons travelled to Charlottesville, Va. to make a presentation to the National Park Service about the new Chesapeake Bay National Recreation Area of the Chesapeake Gateways program and the Nanticoke Heritage Byway. The presentation drew nearly 60 members of the park service and the Chesapeake Gateways programs.

Blackwell spoke about the Nanticoke Heritage Byway and its many historic places and water ways in western Sussex including the Ross Mansion, the Cannon-Maston House, the Seaford Museum, the Woodland Ferry, the Nanticoke Wildlife Area, Bethel, Laurel, and Trap Pond State Park.

“We have more tourists’ type recreational opportunities here than what most people realize,” said Blackwell.

Included in Blackwell’s presentation was an overview of the byway and the state of the art historic state signage system, which allows visitors to the byway to follow map with their phones. Most of the locations on the byway have historic signs on site with information about the venues. “It’s really a great system,” Blackwell added.

Chesapeake Gateways was selected to manage the new Chesapeake Bay National Recreation Area. There are multiple programs under the Chesapeake Gateways parks system. The goal is to make it part of the National Parks Service.

Nanticoke Heritage Byway is the first byway to be included in Chesapeake Gateways. As a result, Blackwell and Parsons were invited to provide information at the February event.

“We have a lot of nature areas and waterways in our byway,” said Blackwell. “Our byway really fits what they (Chesapeake Gateways) want to show.”

All of the Nanticoke Heritage Byway are accessible by car with three locations (Laurel, Seaford, and Federalsburg) accessible by boat. The Woodland Ferry being shutdown at times and not open on weekends doesn’t help the byway’s efforts.

“It’s a shame that the Woodland Ferry is not running like it ought to be running,” Blackwell added,

The byway is a mix of history and recreational opportunities. Among the historic sites are: the Harriet Tubman and the Tilly escape, Captain John Smith and the historic water trail, Cannon Maston House, Ross Mansion, Seaford Museum, historic homes in Bethel and Laurel, and much more.

Trap Pond offers recreational opportunities and trails, including two 3.1 mile courses as well as a camping area and kayaking and canoeing. It will also soon feature a water park.

Among the waterways on the byway are Hearns Pond, Phillips Landing, and three parks. The Chapel Branch Nature Area also includes a 3.1 mile cross country course. The Barns Wood Nature Preserve and Woodland Park of Sussex County, the county’s first park, are located on Woodland Road.

The county park is on 20 acres and has walking trails, and a little pond filled with fish. At Woodland, there is a small boat launch and fishing area and a public area where the ferry is. There is also a 40 plus acre park across the river.

There is also the Koch fishing area near Bethel, a kayak launch, the Records Pond spillway and Broad Creek in Laurel.

Blackwell said the group is also looking to add the site of the Patty Cannon house in Reliance, which is currently located outside the trail.

Members of the Nanticoke Heritage Byway group look to keep doing more to promote the area. Blackwell said there are 200 signs up for the Nanticoke Heritage Byway (100 each way), but it is not enough.

He added that the National Parks Service seems interested in what the byway and Chesapeake Gateways are doing and is very supportive.

“We want to have enough interesting educational opportunities and recreational opportunities to have someone come and spend a couple days here and it will make an economic difference to our communities,” Blackwell concluded.