Built in 1925 by Harry Hudgins in the William West yard, the deck boat (or buyboat) Peggy was named after the daughter of the owner, Walter Burroughs of New Point. Walter and his brother-in-law Raymond Hudgins employed Peggy in the pound net fishery until Raymond’s death in the 1930s. Captain Walter was soon joined by his son Richard and in the 1950s had the boat decked over and shifted into the crab fisheries. In 1946 the bottom was replaced by noted local builder Alton Smith.
In 1961 Peggy was sold to Ed Grinnell of New Point and she was reconfigured for pound fishing again. Captain Ed would eventually return to crab dredging when that fishery became more profitable, and he continued to work Peggy for 40 more years until finally and reluctantly selling her in 2001.
Kim and Gretchen Granberry (PropTalk readers may recognize the Granberrys as some of the original founders of the Cocktail Class Wooden Boat Racing Association) had seen Peggy on the local waters and had long been fans. Kim called Captain Ed once a year for eight years until Ed was ready to part ways with what had become a member of the family.
The Granberrys converted Peggy to a liveaboard vessel and cruised her around the Chesapeake and from Maine to the Caribbean. They kept Peggy in her original working configuration as much as practical, preserving the lines of this locally designed and built working craft.
In 2008 the Granberrys donated Peggy to the Mathews Maritime Foundation. A major rebuild was undertaken under the guidance of Eric Hedberg who directed a team of enthusiastic volunteers. Most of the work was performed at the Gwynn’s Island boatyard and railway that was the former home of noted boatbuilder and author Gilbert Klingel. The decks, pilothouse, and motor were replaced, and Peggy was restored to her working configuration.
Always regarded as a “fast” boat, Peggy frequently took time off from fishing to jump into both organized and informal workboat races. This happened again recently at the 2024 boat docking contest at Williams Wharf, with Peggy taking third place! Peggy is now employed as Mathew’s roving maritime ambassador, exhibiting local know-how, resilience, and spirit up and down the Bay at maritime festivals and events in ports such as Yorktown, Portsmouth, Urbanna, St. Michaels, Chestertown, Tangier, and Cape Charles, among others.
As part of Peggy’s commemoration, Mathews Maritime Foundation has commissioned renowned artist John Barber to depict Peggy at work off New Point Comfort light.
Raffle tickets for the original John Barber painting, in frame with hand-lettered nameplate and painting light, are available now and a drawing will be held at her Centennial celebration at Horn Harbor in September. Proceeds of the raffle will go towards maintaining Peggy into her second 100-years! Visit the Mathews Maritime Foundation website for details on the fundraiser.
The mission of the Mathews Maritime Foundation is to preserve, present, and participate in the rich maritime and cultural heritage of Mathews County, VA. The foundation is dedicated to preserving this rich heritage through research, documentation, conservation, and education. Incorporated on January 6, 1999, it has two locations, the Mathews Maritime Museum and the Gwynn’s Island Boat Shop, the former site of Pulley Marine and Gilbert Klingel’s boat yard.
By Mike Moore