The Chesapeake Bay Serpent, Chessie, brings the legendary taste of York River shellfish fresh to the market. Oysters that were demanded by British royalty during colonial days are now provided by Chessie Seafood and Aquafarms. Owner and grower Tommy Leggett works with Jackie Harmon and Amanda Jackson to raise oyster seed in the salty waters of the York River until they reach market size. The York River's salty water gives the oyster a unique and desired taste that locals of the Chesapeake Bay crave. Jackie and Amanda are two of only a handful of women on the East Coast who grow oysters comercially.
History
Our farm is less than 1/2 mile away from the site of the last major land battle of the American Revolution, where General Lord Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown to General George Washington in 1781. Only 5 miles upstream is the site where Captain John Smith’s life was saved in 1608 by Pocahontas, the daughter of Powhatan, Chief of the powerful Algonquin Confederacy of Native Americans that dominated Virginia prior to the European settlement of North America.
Historically, the York River contained oyster reefs that the first colonists to Virginia used as a vital food source. The Map below is an original line drawing mapped by Captain John Smith in 1608 (courtesy of British Museum of History).
John Smith's 1608 map shows colonial oyster reefs in the vicinity of the present day York River Oyster Farm.
