Captain Salem Avery House

"Captain Avery," a fisherman from Long Island, came to Shady Side on the eve of the Civil War to "work the water" on the West River. He married Lucretia Weedon of nearby Mayo, and they raised a large family; many of their descendants are still in the area. In the 1920s the house was bought for a summer place by a group of Washington families. They built an addition larger than the original dwelling, and three generations enjoyed the place for 60 years. In 1985 the property was bought by the Shady Side Rural Heritage Society, which has restored the original section to its original 1860 appearance and made it into a watermen's museum, which is equally accessible by land or water.

The house is open Sundays and Mondays March through December and by appointment. It is also open 9 a.m. to noon during the society's regular Monday meetings.

-- Hank Burchard