Virginia - Chincoteague and Assateague - Pony Pennings in 1920, 1921 and 1922

Pony Penning had been taking place on both Assateague and Chincoteague Islands separately for a couple of centuries before it came to an abrupt halt.  The first known teacher at the Assateague village school, nestled near the lighthouse in 1890, was John W. Field.  Field, who was also a trained physician, taught grades one through six in a one-room school on Assateague for 22 years, until his death in 1912.  And he really liked Assateague.  He began purchasing any land that was sold on the island in 1891, and continued until his death.  Most of his purchases were through the Commonwealth of Virginia, as ownership lapsed and taxes weren't paid, obtained by a "warrant" issued by Virginia.   

Assateague village schoolhouse, circa 1910

When John Field died, his land was inherited by his son, Samuel B. Field, who was a clothing businessman (president of the company) in Baltimore.  Sam, too, had been purchasing land as it became available on Assateague.  By 1906, he owned most of the Hook, and he leased the land on Tom's Cove to the fish factories there in 1912 and 1921.  By 1920 he owned almost all of the land of Assateague below the Maryland-Virginia line, all the way out to the low-tide lines.  Sam Field apparently wanted control of the entire Virginia end of Of Assateague; he informed the inhabitants of the 20 or so village homes that they were forbidden to step on his property, posted "No Trespassing" signs, and hired Charles Oliphant from Wyoming, who was armed with a .45 pistol, to patrol his property. 

The families who lived on Assateague could not walk across the Shell Road to Tom's Cove to work in the fish factories.  If any of their livestock strayed off their designated home plots, they could not retrieve them.  They could only go to their boats using neighbors properties as walkways and their properties that fronted the Channel as a landing spot.  They couldn't go to work easily, and their travel and food-growing areas were grossly confined.  It was the death knell for Assateague village.    Sam Field would not allow the men who owned livestock - especially the pony herds - to trespass on his land, either.  It made for interesting times.   

Assateague village Church and Assateague Lighthouse, circa 1910

In the Tuesday, 20 July 1920 edition of The Morning News of Wilmington, Delaware, on page 7, is the headline: 

"PONY ROUND-UP - Annual Event This Week At Chincoteague and Assateague -   The annual pony-penning will be held at Assateague, Va., on Wednesday and  Chincoteague Island, Va., on Thursday.  Many people from Delaware, Maryland and Virginia are expected to witness the affair.  It is a sort of home-coming event and preparations for entertaining visitors have been made. ..."   

The newspaper service I use has nothing about Chincoteague, Assateague, or Pony Penning listed between 20 July 1920 and the startling headline of 10 August 1920 in The Daily Banner of Cambridge, Maryland in the top center of page 1:

"CHINCOTEAGUE HAS LAST PENNING OF PONIES  -  Custom Which Grew Up After First Animals Swam To Shore Will Probably Die As Result From Edict Of Pasture Owners.  -

Chincoteague, Va., Aug. 7.  --   The annual pony penning held here last week will probably be the last.  S. B. Field, of Chincoteague, owner of the pasture land, objects to pasturing the ponies, and the breeding of ponies will probably stop as a result.   

The annual event has become a sort of institution here.  Last week, Governor and Mrs. Westmoreland Davis, with several officials from Richmond, attended.  Large crowds gathered.  The atmosphere is much the same as that supposed to prevail in the West during a round-up.   

A Chincoteague pony owner takes much pride in the pedigree of his ponies.  The earliest stock got here by accident.   In the early eighties a Spanish ship freighted with ponies was wrecked off Assateague coast.  The surviving ponies swam to the shores of Assateague.  The islanders became interested in them as a business proposition and from time to time have added new stock.  The first new ponies were Western stock, then Canadian.  About 20 years ago Ned Timmons brought a Shetland pony.  The Shetland addition to the stock made the offspring smaller in size but more healthy.   This mixture of Spanish, Canadian, Western and Shetland has developed into the Chincoteague pony. 

The Spanish ponies which swam to Assateague beach found food in abundance.  They have a stretch 30 miles in length and 1 1/2 miles in width in which they can graze.  Water is found in ponds on the beaches and the sand hills furnish shelter.   

To a scientist a study of the life and habits of these ponies would prove interesting.  They seek food according to the seasons and the winds.  In the winter when the wind is South, they move northward toward Greenrun; when a "Northeaster," frequent in this section occurs, they move southward.  In the summer, the habit is just the opposite.  The reason for this habit is the animal instinct of protection.   

Fishermen walk miles to find out what direction the wind will blow by watching the ponies.  They always stand with their backs to the direction from which wind will come. 

Wild ponies and cattle on Assateague Island, circa 1910

The Chincoteague pony is self-supporting, claiming the attention of its owners only once a year, which on Assateague is always the last Wednesday in July and on Chincoteague the last Thursday in July.  As the ponies roam over the islands from one summer to another in the wild state the owners never know how many they have until pony penning day, when the ponies are rounded up by horseback riders and driven into a large pound.

The young pony is separated from the rest of the drove and in a few minutes its mother will rush forward fighting furiously.  Then the pony gets the initial of its owner.  The brand is put upon the pony's hip or shoulder by means of a hot iron.  When the identity of a pony is discovered that pony is haltered by experienced horse-breakers and led from the pound to some open space where it is held on the ground, its face covered and the hot iron applied.  Then if the pony is not to be sold it is liberated."   

The Democratic Advocate, printed in Westminster, Maryland, of 15 July 1921 stated:

"The Annual Pony-Penning will take place on Assateague Beach July 26, and on Chincoteague the following day."   

In "Once Upon An Island" by Kirk Mariner, the author states on page 104: "...that [pony penning] scheduled for 1921 did not take place because Field refused to allow the owners to cross his land and round up their herds..."     

And The Democratic Messenger, of Snow Hill, Maryland, in the edition of 30 July 1921, stated:  "Mssrs. Sewell T. Riley, Purnell West and Lloyd Pusey attended the Pony Penning at Chincoteague Island on Wednesday."   

Chincoteague Pony Penning, circa 1920

According to Kirk Mariner, Pony Penning was held on Chincoteague only in 1922...  However, the only mentions of Pony Penning and Chincoteague  in newspapers of that year are regarding the much-heralded and highly anticipated opening of the causeway and bridges to Chincoteague from the mainland.   

The only actual reference to a specific pony penning is this advertisement in The Democratic Messenger newspaper from Snow Hill, on 30 September 1922 that reads: "PONY PENNING AT OCEAN City Inlet - I will have a Pony Penning at the inlet on Wednesday, Oct. 4th, from 9 A. M., to 4 P. M.  Motor boats will take you to the inlet from Ocean City.  William B. S. Powell, Ocean City, Md."