Gratitude was named after a paddleboat! The steamships and paddle wheelers carried passengers and cargo to the original village of Deep Landing from various ports on the Chesapeake Bay. Later renamed the town of Gratitude, its Post Office near the end of Lawton Avenue was converted into a restaurant and is now a lovely bed and breakfast. The steamship Gratitude was commandeered by the US Navy during WW1 as a supply boat for the SS Iowa.  Alas, our namesake was renamed and sold to Cuba in 1924. We have a group of Lawton Avenue residents that are planning a trip to Havana to rescue her and return her to her rightful home.

The Old Gratitude House in Rock Hall, Maryland was built about 1890 in the popular Victorian style. It was a gun club for many years. Little else is known about its history. In 1975 it was purchased by Dr. Pierre Leroy as a home for his mother. After her death, the Leroy family converted it into their summer home, with substantial expansion to accommodate family and friends. When Hank & Sandy bought the house in 2005, it had only one bathroom and 8 bedrooms. A total of seven bathrooms were added to the house, and the third floor was made into the Tropical Retreat with a large deck overlooking the Bay.

Sandy is a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology and worked as a women’s wear designer and production manager in New York City for 30 years, before becoming an innkeeper. Hank spent more than 25 years in corporate finance before returning to college and earning a Ph.D. in Urban Planning from Rutgers University. Hank & Sandy owned and operated the successful Georgian House Bed & Breakfast in Annapolis for five years before moving to the Eastern Shore. The Old Gratitude House was a wonderful find and was lovingly converted to a very special waterfront bed and breakfast. We feel especially fortunate and grateful to be able to share our home with our guests. One of the finest B&Bs on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.