Event Venue & Creative Space for Arts
 
From the website:
Our story begins with A. Reggie Mariner, II slowly buying the different parcels that make up our grounds back in the 1970’s.  The property was meant to embody a vision he had for preserving the architectural styles and characters he grew up with on the Eastern Shore.  A general contractor for nearly fifty years, Reggie would work on the property with his crew in between jobs and on weekends, often recruiting his three children to help- Jennifer, Reggie Jr. and Beth.  One pickup load at a time they cleaned the property up.

In the mid 1980’s after completing a residence for he and his wife, Ann Showell Mariner, Reggie began construction on his recreation artisan’s village.  It began with a potter… first building a studio space and then a shed for the kilns.  With these two buildings completed, the gates were opened in 1984 and guests could come visit and experience crafts and trades of a bygone era.  Each year Reggie would continue to build a little more!

During the 1990’s the property was in it’s heyday.  In addition to the holiday weekend shows there were haunted hay ride attractions as well as catered events and private parties.   Reggie and Ann  traveled all over Delmarva in search of talented artists and tradesmen that would demonstrate their craft such as weavers, potters, blacksmiths, letterpress arts, candle making, gunsmithing and so many others!  Katherine Purnell  would cook up mouth watering Eastern Shore delicacies on the wood cook stove in the Workboat Galley for guests and Woodrow Higgins would delight folks with his storytelling.  The smell of wood smoke billowed from the chimneys of the buildings that had become Mariner’s Country Down and the dream of “living tomorrow’s future through today’s past” had come to fruition.

As any artist will tell you, when the creative process strikes you seize it!  And that can often come without abiding by all the rules regulations that one must follow.  And after mounting pressure from local government, the gates were closed in 2000 and not much happened since.  However in the last few years a new generation of the family has stepped forward to try and bring the property into compliance and begin hosting events again!  We are committed to embracing the ideals Reggie began with, while also focusing on the ecological and cultural values our farm has to offer!