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Cecil County, Maryland

Cecil County Maryland is the home of some of the earliest Canvasback decoy makers in the United States. There were 5 men inparticular who put Cecil county on the map for quality decoys. These men were known around the country, but inparticular to the  Charlestown, Maryland area. They were John Black Graham, known for some of the earliest decoys made in America. George Washington "Wash" Barnes, a boat manufacturing and fishery businessman.  Scott Jackson, a brother in law to George Barnes and an employee of his boatyard and fishery. Carol "Wally" Algard and William "Snakes" Heverin.  These men were known as the Charlestown 5, reknown for their decoy making skills on the upper Chesapeake Bay.

Other reknown decoy makers in Cecil County were Henry Davis and Asa Owens of Perryville, lifelong best of friends, market hunters and guides. It is told that one carved while the other painted the decoys.

George and Henry Lockard of Elk Neck. These two brothers only carved decoys for their own use which makes them among some of the rarest in exsistance. George was the oldest of the two Brothers and his decoys were smaller more compact in nature and his earliest decoys have been found with iron keels, dating from the 1880s. Henry's decoys were usually heavier and bulkier in appearance with longer necks. Both brothers decoys have been found with early sand mold keel weights and the later bar lead weight. One tell tail sign of a Lockard decoy is the deep carved curved nostrils in the bill.  

Taylor Boyd of Perryville made some of the finest form decoys in Cecil county with his early carvings having long bodies and high heads. His later Canvasbacks were "short and fat" as described to me by one collector.

All of these men had their own particular style of decoy carving. All were avid outdoorsmen with some being proffessional hunting guides and market hunters. The decoys these men carved are in great demand and hard to find on today's decoy market especially in original paint. Most that are found have seen heavy use on the Chesapeake bay with multi coats of paint on them.  Even with a few coats of old gunning paint, these decoys are cherished by collectors who are fortunate enough to add them to their collections.

John B. Graham was an undertaker and cabinet maker by profession in Charlestown, Maryland. He carved decoys for over 50 years and some say, the first decoy carver in Charlestown.

This is a fine example of John Graham's early "Bull Canvasback" decoy. Notice the "Roman Nose" bill carving. This is a tell tale sign of an early carving. I place this decoy at circa: 1870. It has old gunning paint that I believe is very early Madison Mitchell.

 Scott Jackson was neighbor to William Heverin and a Brother in Law to George Washington Barnes. He was a Carpenter by trade sometimes working on the repair of boats for the George W. Barnes fishery. 

This wonderful and rare pair are fine examples of Scott Jackson rigmates. They came from the John Hansen rig and both carry the JH brand on the tail. Mr. Jackson guided John Hansen in hunting and maintained this rig of decoys. Notice the original Jackson repaint.

William Heverin was probably the most prolific decoy carver in Cecil county. I have been told he carved decoys from the 1890s to the late 1940s.

This fine Heverin decoy has tack eyes and  is  in original paint. It is a fine example of Heverins 1920s work.

Mr. Heverin charged a fee for every detail he did to the decoy. He would carve the decoys and then give the option to paint or add tack eyes or line tie or weight. This must have been an example of his deluxe Canvasback model!

Carol Algard known to his friends as "Wally", carved decoys mainly for his own use. This is one of the reasons his early decoys, such as this example, are so rare. His style changed from a gracefully detailed and finely finished decoy in the early years (1900-1930) to a rougher semi finished style in his later years (1940s+). Mr. Algard was a neighbor to William Heverin and the Heverin carved head can be found on many Algard decoys.

This is a fine example of Wally Algards early fine work circa 1900-1910

George "Wash" Barnes owned a fishery and boat repair facility at Carpenter's Point, Maryland, not too far from Charlestown. George and his Brothers, Harry, Richard, and Perry ran the operation and were all avid hunters. I believe that each Brother had his own rig of decoys because I have seen many decoys with PK Barnes (Perry K. Barnes) or RK Barnes (Richard K. Barnes) brand on them. These brands have been found on a variety of decoys from different decoy makers such as Graham and Heverin. George Barnes seems to have made decoys only for his own use. There is no proof that he made decoys for anyone else. Another side note is that Scott Jackson, another one of the Charletown 5 makers, was not only employed by George Barnes at the fishery as a boat repairman, but Mr. Jackson was also a Brother in Law to Mr. Barnes.

You will notice the similarities in the style of head carvings between George Barnes and Scott Jackson. That is where the similarities end. The body carving styles between the two are totally different.