Cape Charles
VIRGINIA
FAST FACTS • Located 32 miles northeast of Norfolk, across the entrance to the Bay • Established in 1884 as a railroad town, connecting via ferry service to mainland Virginia • Home to one of the best beaches on the Bay • East-west streets are named after famous Virginians; north-south are named for fruits.
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WHAT MAKES IT UNIQUE The origin story for Cape Charles story begins in the 1880s, when the railroad finally stretched south from its terminus in Pocomoke, Md., and ended instead at Cape Charles Harbor. There, people and goods were loaded aboard ferries and barges to sail across the mouth of the Bay to Norfolk, where the railroad picked up again. (Or vice versa, of course.) The completion of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel in 1964 threw a wrench in the engine of economic prosperity, so it has taken this little town at the end of the road a long time and a few false starts to come back. But it’s back in a big way: a charming village full of historic homes with a tossed salad of architectural styles, cute shops and restaurants, and one of the finest beaches on the Bay.
ChesapeakeBayMagazine.com | Weekends on the Water 2022
