FEATURE
Tasty Tidbits in a Fur Jacket
The plentiful marshlands of the Chesapeake Bay. Photo by Micah Colston.
On Maryland’s Eastern Shore, a peninsula between the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, there are acres of marshland created by the coastal bays and the numerous ponds, streams, and river tributaries that feed into the Chesapeake. From a cultural, ecological, and historical perspective, this region has untapped potential for heritage tourism. Currently, the primary tourist destinations of choice are the Delaware and Maryland beaches along the Atlantic Ocean coastline. From Memorial Day to Labor Day, the beaches annually draw seasonal visitors from urban cities such as Washington, DC, Baltimore, MD, and Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, PA.
The unique landscape of this region has produced the Native American Beach to Bay Waterway trails of the Algonquian Indians, the oyster and crab canning industries stocked by the Chesapeake Watermen, the fruit (watermelon) and vegetable (tomato) industry farms requiring seasonal migrant workers, chicken houses to supply the poultry industry, and a natural habitat for waterfowl, deer, and wild turkeys for resident bow and gun hunters.
This natural habitat is also home to a fairly large amphibious rodent called the “Marsh Rabbit.” Most people simply refer to them as a muskrat or rat. They reside in the plentiful marshlands of the Chesapeake Bay and eat cattails and the roots and stalks of aquatic plants. Quiet as it is kept, this little fella has produced numerous folklife and cultural traditions that are still practiced and respected among Eastern Shore multi-generational residents—a long-standing history that lends itself to interpretation.
What is a “Marsh Rabbit”?
This semi-aquatic robust vole weighs in at around four pounds and can be measured up to thirteen inches long. They have short legs, large webbed hind feet, small eyes and ears, a long-flattened swimming tail, and are fully covered with a reddish to blackish brown hairy fur coat. Muskrats can live up to three or four years in the wild. They burrow at the water’s edge for shelter and can stay submerged underwater for up to twenty minutes. A muskrat is like an aqua rodent who can live comfortably both on land and underwater. Muskrats build cone-shaped lodges on the marsh where they can nest within the chambers inside their lodges.
The name muskrat comes from their musky odor, produced in their perineal glands, secreted into the urine, and used to mark their pathways and lodges around their habitat. Muskrats flourish in the marshes of the Eastern Shore and are prolific breeders of up to one or more litters of three to eight young each year. Their gestation period extends three to four weeks. According to data collected by the Department of Natural Resources, the Blackwater Natural Wildlife Refuge in Maryland appears to be the Muskrat Capital of the Eastern Shore, housing close to one muskrat per acre.
The muskrat is essentially an Eastern Shore hunter’s heritage, trade, and delicacy. Bow hunters past and present hunt these mammals primarily for their fur, but also as a food delicacy.
Historically, the muskrat has been trapped for their thick and durable fur coats. The Indigenous Algonquian Tribes of the Pocomoke, the Accohannock, and the Nanticoke Tribes along the waterways of the Chesapeake Bay have been some of the earliest muskrat fur trappers and often used muskrat meat in their diets.
More recently, before she escaped from slavery on the Eastern Shore, Harriet Tubman (1822-1913) trapped muskrats. As an enslaved child, she was hired out numerous times and for many reasons under very harsh conditions, as is documented in an exhibit by the National Park Service’s Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park in Church Creek, MD. A photo of this exhibit is provided along with the descriptive narrative:
Injured, lonely, sick, and starving, young Tubman did not live with her family. At six years old, [Edward] Brodess [her parents' slave owner] hired Harriet away and her parents were powerless to stop him. She grew up having temporary masters who required perfection and often terrorized her. Tubman was forced to trap muskrats in the frozen marsh.
Muskrat/Nutria - a popular marshland resident. Photo by Kobi Colston.
Exhibit of Harriet Tubman catching muskrats as a child. Photo by Micah Colston.
The National Park Service Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center. Photo by Micah Colston.
Source of Clothing
Although the fur trade has fallen out of favor, it still exists, and muskrat pelts are still being collected and shipped to where there are buyers, as I discuss in my interpretive presentation on the muskrat (using pictures of fur clothing). Animal fur is banned in many countries and the animal rights organization PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) has had a major impact on lowering its fashion appeal in the United States. Still, there are buyers of fur, and muskrat fur is sought after because it is both thick and durable.
Muskrat fur is commonly used to make hats, mittens, jackets, and coats that are prized in China, Russia, and other Eastern European countries. The fur on the muskrat’s back is traditionally used for coats and hats while the fur on its belly is used for trim to line coats and boots. (Muskrat fur, also, can be dyed and used to make coats that resemble mink.) In Russia, for example, many men prefer buying the cheapest fur hat they can get to warm their heads in sub-zero weather—and muskrat fur can be cheap. In the State of South Dakota’s 2022-23 Fur Harvest Report, muskrat fur (at an average price of $1.98 per pelt) is the least expensive of all animals listed save the spotted skunk.
According to Sentient Media, a fact-checked and science-driven nonprofit and nonpartisan news organization on factory farming, the use of fur to trim coats and boots keeps buyer production alive. A bundle of pelts is often referred to as a lot. In Canada, a lot of 123 muskrat pelts can fetch more than $1,160 or a little less than $10 per pelt. In hard economic times, muskrat trapping has brought in supplemental income for the generational trappers here on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. However, currently, the fashion industry and major designers have stopped incorporating animal fur in their designs.
Because there are fewer trappers and less fur, there are fewer buyers. Most of the fur buyers have passed away and their businesses have closed, including the popular Boog’s Delmarva Trade Company that operated outside Vienna, MD, in Dorchester County. A former trapper, Vernon G. Boog was a resident buyer who brought muskrat fur from trappers in Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia. However, Boog said in a 1991 interview with The Washington Post that the muskrat fur market was crashing due to ranch-raised mink, and his own company closed thereafter. Zander Fur, an agricultural product wholesaler, is the current regional buyer for stretched muskrat fur pelts.
Source of Food
In addition to their fur, the muskrat is also a hunter’s delicacy here on Maryland’s Lower Eastern Shore. Muskrat meat is traditionally served during the Lent Season or the cold winter months of January and February each year. If “All You Can Eat” Chesapeake Bay blue crabs are a local favorite during the summer months, a joyous winter delight is “Muskrat Suppers.” During January, February, and early March, you will find fund-raising suppers at local churches and lunch specials at selected restaurants featuring muskrat stew or braised muskrat with grits, collard greens, and cornbread.
Muskrat meat is considered a “superfood.” Why? It’s a lean protein considered healthy and nutritious. It also has high levels of iron and it is a source of Vitamin B. Muskrats primarily eat vegetation, preferring a plant-based diet.
As muskrat devotees will tell you, when it comes to eating muskrat, that’s when we separate the real Eastern Shorepeople from everyone else. Let’s face it, the muskrat’s name alone severely reduces its appeal to non-resident diners. Muskrat is primarily a local domestic dish served in family homes or at church events.
Three of the most popular ways of preparing and serving Muskrat meat are:
- The CLASSIC – Braised or Roasted with Salt, Pepper, and Sage (see picture)
- The MOST POPULAR – Muskrat Stew with Vegetables
- A LATINO-INSPIRED DELICACY – Muskrat Tacos
Cindy’s Kitchen in Cambridge, MD, is one of the more popular Dorchester County family restaurants that feature this marsh rabbit on their seasonal menu. In an adjacent county, Dayton’s Restaurant in Salisbury, MD, has featured muskrats on their menus as well. The mother-daughter owners of Cindy's Kitchen immerse themselves in all stages of muskrat food preparation, from raw muskrat to fully cooked with onions. I look forward, also, to sampling a homemade muskrat stew prepared by a recommended cook here on the Lower Eastern Shore.
Raw Muskrat Meat. Photo by Hanna Bayless (Cindy’s Kitchen)
Braised Muskrat with sauteed onions. Photo by Hanna Bayless (Cindy’s Kitchen)
Left: Cindy’s Kitchen in Cambridge, MD. Photo by Micah Colston.
Right: Mother-Daughter Owners of Cindy’s Kitchen. Photo by Hanna Bayless.
An Annual Cultural Tradition
Each year, in Dorchester County, Maryland, there is a National Outdoor Show that showcases a worldwide muskrat skinning competition. This two-day event has a long history dating back to its beginning in 1938 and is held annually in Church Creek, Maryland. This Outdoor Show celebrates the folklife and cultural traditions of the trappers, hunters, fishers, cooks, and sportspeople who reside in this region and across the country. This National Outdoor Show begins with a Miss Outdoors Pageant and is followed by additional traditions, including contests in trotline baiting, oyster shucking, log sawing, pole skinning, venison cooking, and duck, goose, and turkey calling. The primary objective of the Outdoor Show is to preserve Dorchester County’s heritage and educate both newcomers and visitors about their rich and unique culture.
At this National Outdoor Show, visitors can scan through the Schedule of Events and quickly see that the competitions include a comprehensive listing of world championship muskrat skinning categories that include: the Beginners Muskrat skinning, Junior Muskrat skinning, Women’s International World Championship Skinning, Men’s International World Championship Muskrat Skinning, Old Timers Muskrat Skinning, and Former Dorchester County Champions Muskrat Skinning.
The object of the skinning competition is to set the fastest time for skinning five muskrats. As it was visually described by an expert John Wennersten in his book Maryland’s Eastern Shore: A Journey in Time and Place, “You grab a muskrat, slashing once above the tail, then you pull the hide off in one piece, like a nightgown, and make two quick knife cuts to the head to separate the pelt from the carcass” (199).
Flyer for the upcoming 2025 National Outdoor Show, with its muskrat skinning competition. Image credit to National Outdoor Show.
A Muskrat New Year’s Celebration and Beyond
If you ever travel to Maryland’s Eastern Shore looking for additional Muskrat Traditions, please visit downtown Princess Anne, MD, in neighboring Somerset County on New Year’s Eve. You can join the locals to watch the infamous “New Year’s Eve Midnight Muskrat Dive.” Now that’s what I call a unique and memorable way to bring in the New Year!
If you miss the New Year’s Celebration, you can find interpretive opportunities at the new Museum of Eastern Shore Culture at Salisbury University in downtown Salisbury. This museum highlights various and diverse Eastern Shore folklife and cultural traditions in the form of photo and art exhibits, performances, storytelling, and displays of collected historical heritage artifacts.
Our region also hosts the annual Maryland Folk Festival: a three-day, four-stage festive event designed to introduce and promote traditional folklife culture to residents and visitors alike in late September. From learning how to shuck oysters to dancing on stage with members of the Pocomoke Indian Nation, attendees have numerous opportunities to embrace the heritage and traditions that have evolved and are sustained within this region.
The muskrat, the Marsh Rabbit, or, simply, the “Tasty Tidbit in a Fur Jacket” represents a unique interpretive opportunity to introduce visitors to the ecological, cultural, and historical traditions of generations and diverse communities that call Maryland’s Eastern Shore home.
For More Information:
Chowning, Larry S. Harvesting the Chesapeake: Tools and Traditions. Tidewater Publications, 1990.
Larson, Kate Clifford. Bound for the Promised Land, Harriet Tubman: Portrait of an American Hero. One World Book, 2004.
Small, Clara L. Compass Points: Profiles & Biographies of African Americans from the Delmarva Peninsula, Vol. 1.Saltwater Media, 2014.
Smith, William N. Marsh Tales: Market Hunting, Duck Trapping, and Gunning. Tidewater Publications, 1985.
Stump, Brice Neal. Unforgettable Treasures: Peoples, Places, and Cultures of the Eastern Shore. The Donning Company Publisher, 2000.
Walker, Tom. Folk Arts & Cultural Traditions of the Delmarva Peninsula: An Interpretive Resource Guide. Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation, 2003.
Wennersten, John R. Maryland’s Eastern Shore: A Journey in Time and Place. Tidewater Publishing, 1992.
