Bringing in the day's catch.
Travel along Route 17 in Gloucester, and you will encounter the hustle and bustle of traffic and the countless retail shops and restaurants that line both sides of the highway. But turn onto Route 216 in Hayes and drive just a few miles east, and all that will quickly melt away. You’ve reached what’s known as Guinea.
It’s not a town, but a collection of places with names like Bena, Achilles, Severn, Maryus and Jenkins Neck, located on what’s known on some maps as Guinea Neck. The people of this long-standing rural community have made their livelihood off the land and surrounding waters of the York River, Mobjack Bay, and Chesapeake Bay. For generations, they’ve farmed, fished, crabbed, or tonged for oysters. For generations they’ve stayed close to one another and the land they call home. As a result, this tight-knit group chose a different path than the surrounding booming Gloucester community. It’s a path that was less traveled, and that has made all the difference in who they are as a people.
GUINEA BEGINNINGS
Ask any number of Guineamen about the origins of the community and its name, and you’ll get any number of answers. Their history was never written down and very early graves (prior to the nineteenth century) were unmarked. The most commonly told story was that during the Revolutionary War, Hessian mercenaries fighting for the British were housed in the area and paid in British guineas. They settled in the area, either deserting or after the war, paying for goods with British guineas. There are also tales of sailors who were shipwrecked after a voyage from Guinea in West Africa, and land being rented to farmers at the rate of one guinea per year.
The deadrise. This traditional workboat for crabbing or oystering was a common sight in the waters off Guinea Neck.
LIVING OFF THE WATER
Regardless how the region and name came into existence, generations harvested the water’s bounty to feed their families and passed their knowledge on to the next. It has always been tough work, but most would tell you it beats being stuck inside all day. Their days have always been long, starting at sunrise, a line of boats heading out, sometimes traveling miles to the fishing or harvesting spot. Hauling in seine nets and oyster tongs heavy with fish or oysters wears on the body. It speaks to the tenacity and grit of the watermen that despite the harsh conditions, life has gone on with little changing except for the harvest of the seasons: fishing year-round, oysters in the winter, and crabbing in the summer.
The tools of the trade have not changed much either. While the three- and five-log canoes were replaced by the deadrise, the crab pots, seine nets and oyster tongs used today are of the same design as generations before. Even the white rubber boots favored by the watermen have been labeled “Guinea Boots” because they’ve been wearing them so long.
One of the many general stores that once dotted the area and were central to life around Guinea.
LIVING ON LAND
Not everyone in Guinea was a waterman, but everyone there had a role. At one time, it was a self-sustaining community for work and play. Businesses were created that supported the fishing industry. General stores like the J.M.Shackleford’s, Otis Hogge’s (now Achilles Shopping Center) and C.B. Rowe & Son, dotted the Guinea Neck. These were true general stores, selling everything from hardware, fishing gear, clothing and groceries, while also being the post office and the place to get your local news. They were places where Sheriff Andy Taylor or anyone else from Mayberry might find themselves at home, with men playing checkers in front of a wood stove and solving the problems of the day. Guinea also had its own movie theater, the Asta, which played to packed houses. For a while, there was little need to venture out of Guinea on a regular basis.
THE TIDES OF CHANGE
Guinea Neck by artist Harriet Cowen, Guinea Jubilee Poster Contest winner. Courtesy of the Guinea Heritage Association.
For generations, the waters were generous. The bounty was plentiful, and times were good. At one point in the early 1960s, 50 percent of the blue crabs and 20 percent of the oysters eaten in the U.S. came out of the Chesapeake Bay. But just decades later, only a fraction of what used to come out of the surrounding waters ended up in fishermen’s boats. Many will argue about what caused the decline in marine life — overfishing, overregulation, pollution, or disease — but this and a series of events, both by nature and man, would change how the people of Guinea would live and work.
There was the building of the Coleman Bridge in the early 1950s. Connecting Guinea to the larger cities across the York River — Yorktown, Newport News, Norfolk — the bridge brought in people from “outside” and changed the make-up of the region. No longer was it only populated by generations of Guineamen and Guineawomen or those married to them.
People from Guinea also began to venture out more often for work, shopping and entertainment. The scenic shores of the York River also proved valuable to developers, who began snapping up property to build on. By the 1990s, all this development led to polluted waters and depleted populations of all marine life, eventually leading the state to set quotas or close areas to fishing and harvesting.
Mother Nature dealt the toughest blow in 2003 with Hurricane Isabel. The 90 mph wind gusts and the nearly 5-foot storm surge took its toll on Guinea. Not only did it disrupt fishing and harvesting, it destroyed many homes that were never rebuilt. Homes were deserted, some demolished, and today, nature is slowly reclaiming the land. Where a neighborhood of neat little yards once dotted the shoreline, trees, weeds and grasses have taken over. The future is uncertain for these properties. FEMA purchased them in the aftermath of the storm, and it is now up to Gloucester County to decide what to do with them.
A beautiful view of Guinea Sound.
GUINEA LOOKS TO THE FUTURE
While there is little agreement about how Guinea came to be, ask any Guineaman about what the future holds for Guinea, and you’ll hear a very common theme. They want to hold on to the small-town family nature of Guinea. Older residents will tell you that they once knew everybody where they lived. Nearly everyone had nicknames like Teeny Man, Pot Jim and Lady MoMo. The waterman’s way of life may be fading, and other folks are moving in, but they still want to know their neighbors. When they ask “Dawlin, how you this mornin?” they mean it, and they want others to do the same.
Setting the seine nets.
GUINEA CELEBRATES THE PAST
Even while looking to the future, you should never forget your past. One organization dedicated to keeping the history of this proud and unique community alive is the Guinea Heritage Association. They hold two annual events in September, Guinea Heritage Day and the Guinea Jubilee. Guinea Heritage Day, always held the first Sunday after Labor Day, is like a large family get-together. In addition to crowning Miss Guinea Jubilee, they also announce the Grand Marshall of the Guinea Jubilee, which honors a person who has significantly contributed to the Guinea community.
If Guinea Heritage Day is the family get-together, then the Guinea Jubilee is when you invite company over. Held the last Friday and Saturday of September, this fundraising event attracts thousands celebrating the people and way of life in the Guinea Neck through cultural activities, arts and crafts, a parade, music, and of course, delicious seafood. This fundraising goal is to create a Guinea museum at the former C.B. Rowe & Son General Store to educate visitors about life in this community. For more information, visit their Facebook page or http://www.guineaheritage.org/.