Reedville is a quiet little town that developed in the 1870’s around menhayden fishing. (Menhayden, also known as pogies, alewives, or bunkers, are part of the herring family).

The story goes that one Elijah W. Reed, a retired sea captain who just couldn’t get the sea out of his bones discovered that menhayden fish were ignored in the Chesapeake but actively fished in New England. Smelling a successful commercial enterprise he purchased 33 1/3 acres on Cockrell Creek, which amounted to the whole point of land jutting into the creek, and established a fish processing plant. Menhayden fishing prospered and so did Reedville.

By 1912, Reedville had developed into a very prosperous center with beautiful Victorian mansions on what became known as "Millionaire Row", the main street.

Alas, Reedville’s domination of the area with over 15 large fish factories and ships supplying them, did not survive the Great Depression. The fishing continued and Reedville continued, but never recovered the grandeur and financial success in once enjoyed.

Today, there are only three processing plants left, and they only take in fish, minimally process them and ship them off to other facilities elsewhere.

Many of the Victorian mansions are now bed and breakfast inns, and there is no other industry in town.

Menhayden are fished using purse seins. Large mother ships each carry several smaller boats that set out and draw in the nets around schools of fish that have been found by spatter planes overhead. The larger ship hauls in the drawn up nets, unloads the fish from the net, and returns the net to be used by the small boats again.

When sailing down the bay we could see the spotter planes circling overhead. Then we could see the large ships stream off and put out the little boats with the nets circling the fish. Needless to say, we gave these boats wide hearth, but watched them work with binoculars. This type of fishing isn’t seen until you get into Virginia. It is illegal in Maryland. When you pass the boats coming into the creek, and approaching the anchorage, they really do STINK!—Smells like a combination of old fish, ground cat food, and bad, bad kitty breath. YUCK!