Compiled by Joe Leger
Current owner of Archer's Hays House
11806 Rivershore Drive
Dunkirk, MD 20754
| 1904 | Due to continued silting from agriculture and construction/erosion another dredging of the Patuxent River above Bristol is completed (450 feet long, 10 feet deep with a 240 foot wide turning basin). |
| 15 Jul 1907 | Major Spencer Cosby, Army Engineers opinioned that the Patuxent River was not worthy of further improvement through dredging or landings - mostly due to siltation and the impact of rail systems on the commerce of the area. |
| 1928 | The "James E. Trott," a schooner, floundered in Hunting creek and remains there. It was 59 tons, built in 1870, and broke loose of the moorings and sunk. Parts were salvaged and are on display in the Calvert County museum. |
| 1930 | Barge "Calvin" sunk in Hunting Creek. 415 tons, built in 1908. |
| (?) to ~1950 | Archer's Hays owned by Luther Whittington |
| ~1950 | Luther Whittington died. |
| 1951 | The first bridge is constructed between Benedict and Hallowing Point over the Patuxent River. It connects Calvert County with Charles County and the lower part of Prince Georges County. |
| 1957 | John Howard, hunting guide, Uncle of Nancy Whittington Nutter, drowned in Patuxent River. Nancy, who was the daughter of Vernon and May Walton Whittington, lived in the old house. She remembers from her youth, her father's horse breaking through an Indian grave while plowing. |
| ~1950 to 1969 | Archer's Hays owned by May Walton and Vernon Whittington (Nephew of Luther Whittington who left house to Vernon) |
| 1969 to 1971 | Archer's Hays owned by Robert Kaine and Bernard T. Diedrich, developers of Shores of Calvert community, who subdivided the land on which the house sits to the present 1.75 acre size. The house and outbuildings are scheduled for demolition, but saved by the Duffy's. |
| 1971 to 1976 | Archer's Hays purchased and salvaged by the Duffy family. During the first year, the first bathroom was installed in the house and heating and plumbing run. |
| 1972 | New Kitchen and Master Bedroom added by Duffys; Three dormers added to Main house; third floor bedrooms walls were put in. A well was dug. |
| 1976 to 1978 | Archer's Hays owned by Sandra Justice. "Blessed" with name Sursum Corda means "Lift Up Your Hearts," and comes from the liturgy of the Church of England. |
| 17 Dec 1977 | Bridge at Solomon's completed |
| 4 Apr 1978 to 1 Jul 86 | Archer's Hays owned by Nancy and Art Oldham |
| 1980 | Second oldest expansion demolished by Oldhams - Garage built onto house |
| Jul 1980 | Designated as Historic District #80-1, via Resolution No. 35-80 of Calvert County |
| 1 Jul 1986 to Present | Archer's Hays purchased by present owner, Elmo Joseph (Joe) Leger, Jr., wife Nancy Jean McCarthy Leger and their two children, Patrick Christopher and Joe III |
| 4 Jul 1986 | The Leger's moved into the house. Nancy spent the first night - delighted by noises, creaking of the house, and screech owls in Linden tree in front yard. The Linden is well over 300 years old and is probably the oldest in Maryland. It was struck by lightening in the 60's. |
| 1986 | A variety of trash trees and thorned vines are cleared from slope by the Legers; an upper deck and steps were installed; grapes, periwinkle, and ivy are planted on slope. |
| 1987 | A 140' dock and mooring pilings are added by the Legers. The remainder of steps down the slope and a lower deck is installed; continued clearing brush on slope and planting. Installed opening to crawl space under kitchen; Joe III graduated from Calvert County Northern High School and attends University of Maryland; Ivy planted around crabapple - the largest specimen in Calvert County. Engaged neighbors in general restoration and beautification of rivershore. |
| 1988 | A small Boat Shed is added by Legers; brick walks installed by kitchen; small porch in garage was enclosed and steps to garage attic added; more Periwinkle and Ivy transplanted to the slopes. |
| 1989 | Gutters replaced on house and underground drainage for roof gutters added; Root cellar restored; electricity added to dock; refurbished kitchen cabinets, added beams to kitchen, and repainted several rooms; planted crabapple, plum, and apple trees in side yard; planted grapes on slope under deck; placed steps down nature path to boat house. |
| 1990 | The bricks on the foundation of the main house are dug out to the base and pointed up; ran water and electricity and phone lines to the deck, boat house, and dock; refinished tile in both baths; refurbished third floor guest room; painted walls and refinished floor in stairwell and hallway to master bedroom; added 100-amp electric sub-panel in garage; Goose shot at end of dock in February by Joe while hunting with Al from Huntingtown; first crab on 1 Apr, no more until end of June. Cannon ball found in river, probably from barge which sank sometime around 1680-1720. |
| Early-1991 | Visit made by Sandra Justice, a previous owner (1976-78). Short note left, but was not able to meet her. Followed with very interesting notes, sketches, and copies of documents on house. |
| 1991 | Second Cannon Ball found in river; Crabs came early this year - Mid-March; Small ducks (6) hatched, 5 grew to adults, all female; Rockfish started biting in March, in full swing starting June and continuing to Thanksgiving - several 8-12 pound caught; Chris Leger graduated from High School - accepted to Carnegie-Mellon; 3 Aug 91, Leger's hosted picnic for Alumni and new students of Carnegie-Mellon. |
| 4 Aug 91 | Visit by Buck Trott, grandson of Bessie Whittington (second wife of Luther Whittington), former wife of Allen Belt Trott - Maiden name of Bessie King. Buck used to visit almost every weekend from Washington, DC. Now a retired Air Force Colonel (1980), he recalls 4th of July picnic (1943?) when training plane out of Croom Airport running into Linden tree in front yard and showering picnic with limbs and leaves - no one hurt, and plane flew off. Buck Trott in Maryland to attend family reunion and celebration of oldest Trott (80 years), his aunt, in Prince Frederick, MD. Joe Leger sent genealogy and history of Archer's Hays to Buck on 12 Aug 91. Bessie Whittington had a stroke late in life and her bedroom was in the current dining room. The fireplaces were closed up because they were too drafty. Bessie weighed over 300-350 pounds and finally moved to North Beach and then to a nursing home. There used to be a path down to the river where the walk is now. Had pier at community beach and Mr. Luther Whittington used to have a boat shop; supposedly built the best boats (skiffs) in Calvert County. Also served as hunting guide. |
| 1992 | Started 30' bulkhead along beach and backfilled. A John Sansbury from Tracey's Landing came by to ask if he could run his coin detector over the property. Said he was a descendent of one of the previous owners. Started terracing hillside. |
| 1993 | Joe Leger raised boat house roof by 5 feet with Joe III and Jim Wingfield; put in underground drainage in front of house by kitchen and running to river. Joe III graduates from University of Maryland with economics degree and gets job with American Association of Medical Schools. Added another 30' of bulkhead along beach. |
| 1994 | Winter: Worse ice storm to hit Maryland. Spring: constructed, with Joe III's friends' help, four tiers of terrace, about 200', above and below upper deck. Summer: replaced roof of entire house (removed 6 truckloads of wood and asphalt shingles), replaced kitchen and dormer aluminum siding, put in kitchen bay window and upper bath hex window. Replaced deck on front porch. Son, Chris finishes Carnegie-Melon with BS degree in electrical engineering and computer engineering; starts doctoral program in robotics. Repaired and rerouted steps to dock and made new lower deck. Landscaped along path and riverside. |
| 1995 | Remodeled 2nd floor Bedroom and 3rd floor bedroom. Re-landscaped several old gardens preserving the original perennials and adding others. Replaced water pump, footvalve and tank. Best Rockfishing season yet. |
| 1996 | Gutted both main bathrooms. Restored first floor bathroom. Enlarged and replaced window, removed closet, added marble floors and walls, replaced toilet and sink, and added marble shower to second floor bathroom. Installed boat lift on the dock. Son, Joe, and Kathrine are married. Wedding and reception take place at the house with about 200 attending. June wedding, warm, but with inviting winds. |
| 1997 | Added lights to the path to the dock. Added rack to dock for canoe and kayak. Best crabbing season on the river. Continued with the landscaping of the hillside. Added cement table and benches under towering persimmon trees in back yard. Harvested plum, cherry, apple and grape. Made wine with plum and grapes. Created garden along garage and original house. |
| 1998 | Removed "strawberry" carpet in kitchen and replaced with period tile: A tremendous change! Best fishing and crabbing, ever, with biggest crabs all season. Rockfish, having been spawned and released over five years ago, are now at least 20-24". The moratorium and limits on the rockfish have worked and now we easily and frequently catch rockfish off the dock. Restored the office room on the second floor. All gardens are now mature and require very little care. Grandson, Samuel Curtis Leger, was born to Joe and Kathrine in June. Chris is working on his Ph.D. in Robotics with Carnegie-Mellon. Senior Joe Leger, retired from the Federal government and started work with the James Martin Company. |
| 1999 | Son Chris graduated (PhD) on 1 December 1999! The wine that has been aging since 1998 was opened for the holiday period and is a little sweet, kind of like sherry, but very enjoyable. Rockfishing was not quite as good this year off the pier, but always there. Perch and Catfish were plentiful. The crab season was nice, but the size of the crabs weres not as large as in 1998. A drought was experienced during the late spring and summer season. |
| 2000 | Heavy snow and cold in January. Ice formed on the river and lasted for a little over two weeks and snow stayed thick for quite a while. The birds appreciated the holly, gum, and hawthorne berries that stay on the trees through the winter. |