Join our tour of Spocott Farm led by George Radcliffe, Jr. , the current owner and seventh grandson of the family that settled in Dorchester County in 1663. We will visit the rambling house, the famous Spocott Windmill, and the accompanying village. We’ll go back in time as we examine the world in which Senator George L. Radcliffe grew up.
Spocott Farm was settled in 1663 by Stephen Gary, the fifth great grandfather of the Senator. After the Civil War, the farm was expanded by John and Sophie Radcliffe to make room for their larger combined households. It was a place where family was defined on a larger scale with everyone living, working, and celebrating together. The inhabitants of Spocott operated as a completely self-sufficient community, growing cotton and raising sheep for clothes, making their shoes, building structures and furniture with wood from the Spocott forests, forming nails and hardware in the family blacksmith shop, and growing all needed food and livestock. John built a schoolhouse on the property. Blacks and whites worked side-by-side as equals.
In 1970, when George returned to his beloved Spocott, he was ready for another project — to restore his father’s windmill that had been blown down in 1888. Forming the Spocott Windmill Foundation, he hired a master boatbuilder, James Richardson. Working from a model, Captain Jim and his crew built the two-story English post mill in the same location as the original. The mill was dedicated and presented to the Senator on his ninety-fifth birthday August 22, 1972.
This field trip is offered in conjunction with the course George Radcliffe, Jr. is teaching this semester, “The Extraordinary Life of Senator George L. Radcliffe.” You need not be registered in the full course to register for this unique tour.
What to expect: You will learn the history and self-sufficiency of this Eastern Shore farming community. Attendance in the full course is encouraged, but not required. Bring your binoculars – George may have time to show you his favorite birding locations!
FIELD TRIP to Spocott Farm located at 1663 Hudson Rd in Cambridge
Tuesday | March 21 | 1 – 3 pm. | $15
