Council hears presentation on Bellevue Passage Museum

Dennis De Shields, the museum’s co-founder and a fourth-generation descendant of Bellevue co-founded the museum with Dr. Mary De Shields, his wife. He spoke to the council about his work in creating the Bellevue Passage Museum, which he hopes will preserve the area’s rich heritage and significance and bring more visibility to Bellevue’s Black community.

Bellevue, which lies on the northern bank of the Tred Avon River, was a self-sustaining African American maritime community, De Shields said. The community served as early environmental stewards for farming and fishing. The village was also home to two of Maryland’s few African American-owned seafood packing houses, W.A. Turner and Sons and Bellevue Seafood, which operated through the mid- to late 1900s.

The John U. Green Store, which was built around 1900 and was also home to Pick’s Place Restaurant, will be restored and repurposed to house the Bellevue Passage Museum. The building is one of two remaining public structures in the community, along with St. Luke’s Church.

The museum will house and display photos and memorabilia that remember Bellevue’s history. One of De Shields’ goals is to make Bellevue a cultural heritage destination, not just a passthrough between Oxford and St. Michaels.

“There’s such a rich history in the Bellevue community (and) our purpose of the museum is to tell that story to all that are willing to listen to the story,” he said.

De Shields touted the lesser-known accomplishments of Bellevue residents, noting a high percentage of college graduates, entrepreneurs and military service members as further reasons to help bring exposure to the community.

While the museum will benefit the Bellevue community, it will also benefit economic tourism in the area, De Shields said. The museum, which will offer free admission, is located on a Chesapeake Country All-American Road and is walking distance from the Oxford-Bellevue Ferry and public landing. De Shields plans to collaborate with the nearby Water’s Edge Museum in Oxford, which also celebrates the African American founding fathers of the Eastern Shore.

Through its collaboration with the Water’s Edge Museum, the Bellevue Passage Museum will benefit students of all ages through immersive and interactive educational experiences. Because of its small size, the museum will have to be creative and rotate the exhibits it has to keep visitors engaged in the project, De Shields said.

The museum also plans to incorporate education with environmental stewardship, De Shields said. Last summer, the museum hosted 11 African American students who participated in Washington College’s Vernacular Architecture field school and documented the area’s cultural landscape to better present Bellevue’s history.

To bring the museum to life, De Shields is collaborating with Preservation Green LLC, a landscape and architectural design firm and Talbot County Parks and Recreation, along with the county’s planning and zoning and economic development and tourism departments.

De Shields and Philip Logan, a principal architect with Preservation Green, met with the Talbot County Parks and Recreation Advisory Board in July to discuss locating the museum in the county-owned Bellevue Park, with the museum being responsible for maintenance.

Additionally, the museum site will feature a kitchen garden, which will function as a teaching garden with composting, and outdoor classroom spaces, Logan said. The museum is planning to improve the park through repaving the existing basketball court and installing a path.

To learn more about the project, visit bellevuepassagemuseum.org.