Wailes Bluff, Point Lookout, St. Mary's County Md

[L.Wailes]

Has anyone hunted along Wailes Bluff up to Potter's Creek? I am looking for any information as to who to contact to have permission to beachcomb there. My husband's family landed in St. Mary's County in the 1600s...and a few hundred years later a Wailes married a fossil hunting fanatic like me! Maybe having a family connection may hold some clout...but who do I contact? On Google Earth the beach looks rip-rapped but the inlet along Potter's Creek looks very promising. Here is a link that mentions what one might find there: http://www.fossilsites.com/STATES/MD.HTM

Ilynassa, Eupleura, Polynices, Fulgur, Corbula, Tagelus, Rangia, Arca, Mya, Barnea, Ostrea, Mastodon teeth, Mammut teeth

any help would be greatly appreciated!

thanks, Laura Wailes

[Plax]

perhaps there is a boat rental in the area?

[FossilDAWG]

I like the boat rental suggestion myself. At a minimum you'll get a day out on the water, exploring.

A strategy I have found useful to get land owner info is to google the tax assessors office for the county in question. Once you go to that site you can (at least here in Georgia and in Alabama) search records by name or address. Generally I do not have either, so what I'll do is put in a common name like Jones or Smith (guaranteed to get hits), click on one of the links that comes up, choose the "map it" function, then start navigating around the map. Alternatively you can use Google Earth to get an address near where you want info and use that address (instead of Jones/Smith) to get into the system; that way you'll be starting close to where you need to go on the map. Either way the "map it" function shows roads and all the property parcels, and if you click on any parcel on the map info about the owner and address will come up.

You can also see if the property has sold recently, the sale price, and the assessed value, which is all useful if you want to get an idea of what your own property might be worth (just look around your own area to see all the "comps" [comparative properties]).

In that part of the country, you may be shocked to see the property values.

Don

[Auspex]

In Virginia, private property extends to mean low water. You can get there by boat, but if you're standing on land you still need the landowner's permission.