About North East Isles

North East Isles is a residential community on the shore of the Upper Chesapeake bay, in the town of North East, Maryland. The property comprises of 29 buildings and 193 owned and rental units, on land bounded, in part, by Stony Run on the east and the Penn Central/Amtrak Railroad on the west.

History

The property currently occupied by the North East Isles Community has a storied history.

In 1652 the Susquehannock Indians retained possession of the land between the North East River and Susquehanna River after they ceded the land which is now the town of North East to the English. NEI is located within the tract retained by the Susquehannock.

From 1884 to 1911, the land was owned by McCullough Iron Works. Charbon Corporation (Owned by McCullough) was on the east side of Stony Run, and manufactured wood alcohol, and charcoal. Charbon Works was destroyed by fire in the early 1900s, and was not rebuilt. Mr. Demond, a local resident, remembered that a steam locomotive set a field on fire.

Shortly after the Charbon Works burned, the property was acquired by the Conroy Manufacturing Company, which owned it until 1926. Conroy Manufacturing, based in New York, NY, manufactured a broad range products for public (including sporting equipment such as fishing tackle and bicycles) and commercial uses. On this site, Conroy apparently produced electrical insulators. Many of the remnants and debris can still be found near the shoreline.

The Arundel Corporation purchased the property in 1926 and held it through 1970. It was referred to as "The Arundel" by the local residents. The Arundel Corporation quarried stone materials in the harbor (site of the current pier) and distributed quarried materials from this part of the county on barges to Baltimore. Rail lines apparently ran through the NEI property to the shoreline. Several sections of rail and other remnants are still present in the woodlot in Section 8, near the pool enclosure. While the property was owned by the Arundel Corporation many other activities took place there. Locals hunted waterfowl along the Arundel shoreline. Prior to World War II the Susquehanna League played baseball where the entrance to NEI is today. After World War II the same location was used as a trap shooting range. The town of North East leased property from the Arundel Corporation on the opposite side of the railroad tracks towards Charlestown for use as a landfill. The dates of operation have not been confirmed, but appear to be in the 1940s to 1950s.

In 1969, the Arundel Corporation sold the parcel east of Stony Run to the Apgar Company. The parcel where North East Isles is located was sold in the 1980s to the North East Development Corporation (NEDC).

PFG Capital Corporation (PFG) purchased the property from the North East Development Corporation (NEDC) in 1989. PFG developed the North East Isles Community that exists today. Construction began in 1991 and was completed in 2005.