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Cape Charles By Nancy and Richard Woodworth Founded in 1884 as a planned community by railroad/ferry interests, this johnny-come-lately settlement at the southwestern tip of Virginia’s historic Eastern Shore grew rapidly to become for a period its largest and busiest town. Railroad magnates William H. Scott and Alexander Cassatt laid out Cape Charles in perfect square blocks stretching back from the Chesapeake Bay. The seven avenues were named for famed Virginians and the six cross streets for fruits and trees. Substantial homes were built to house railroad executives and entrepreneurs attracted by climate, harbor and prosperity. The town thrived for more than half a century because anyone who traveled up and down the Eastern Shore had to pass through it. Up to two million people arrived annually by train or car to catch the steamer or ferry to or from Norfolk. After World War II, however, the ferry terminal relocated south of town and the trains stopped carrying passengers. The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, which opened in 1964, provided access to the mainland and a new highway bypassed the town. Time virtually stopped in Cape Charles after the last steamer left in 1953. Fewer than 40 buildings were erected in the post-war era. Most of its 568 original structures were built between 1885 and 1920, producing one of the largest concentrations of turn-of-the-century buildings on the East Coast. In 1991, the historic district was placed on the National Register. Today, the bayside town is undergoing a renaissance. New enterprises are reviving a downtown that had been eerily abandoned. Newcomers are restoring aging houses as vacation or permanent homes. B&Bs and restaurants have emerged to promote Cape Charles as a destination area for tourists. “This is a town on the way up” and “you won’t recognize the place in five years” are themes heard time and again from the most diverse of sources. In 1996, ground was broken for the nation’s first eco-industrial initiative, the Port of Cape Charles Sustainable Technology Industrial Park along the sleepy harbor. More recently, a Virginia Beach developer started a luxury retirement community called Bay Creek. It is encircling the town with up to 3,000 residential units and two eighteen-hole signature golf courses designed by Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus. Intriguing contrasts abound. Neighboring Eastville has a courthouse where visitors can inspect the oldest court records in America, dating to 1632. The national wildlife refuge has a state-of-the-art visitor center that the ranger on duty believed to be the most advanced in the country. A longtime merchant furnished a turn-of-the-century general store as a museum. A block away a Library of Congress staffer created a gift shop that would be at home in Georgetown. A food retailer turned a truck stop into something of a gourmet restaurant. Excitement is in the air, but don’t be surprised to find half-blocks of abandoned stores between the rising stars or ramshackle eyesores amid the residential restorations. “I tell prospective visitors that if they’re looking for fun and cha-cha, don’t come here,” says Chris Bannon, dean of local innkeepers, who calls this the land of gentle living. “But if they want the beach, birding, friendly people, rural Americana and history, we’ve got them all.” Plus a community with an unmistakable sense of rejuvenation. Material excerpted from Inn Spots & Special Places / Mid-Atlantic, by Nancy and Richard Woodworth. Copyright 2003. Wood Pond Press E-mail feedback to: Home
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