The story of Arlington would not be complete without the inclusion of the enslaved African workers who lived and worked on the property. Probate and census records show that John Custis II had numerous indentured servants and enslaved Africans. . . . — — Map (db m302104) HM
Virginia’s Eastern Shore has been home to Native Peoples, also known as American Indians, for thousands of years. To understand changes in how people lived over the span of time, archaeologists have developed classifications for time periods that . . . — — Map (db m302101) HM
Most of what we know about the Arlington Site has been learned through archaeology. Archaeology is the study of past human activity through the examination of material culture, which means things modified or used by people. This is often the only . . . — — Map (db m302106) HM
Two miles west stood Arlington, original home of the Custis Family, built by John Custis. The family tombs are still preserved there. Governor Wm. Berkeley made his headquarters there during Bacon's Rebellion in 1676. Arlington on the Potomac was . . . — — Map (db m98646) HM
In 1676, John Custis II was recognized as a wealthy and powerful man, not only on the Eastern Shore, but also in Jamestown. When Nathaniel Bacon assembled a militia to overthrow the royal government at Jamestown, Governor William Berkeley fled to . . . — — Map (db m98786) HM
The 90 ton BCR 2000 diesel locomotive came to us in 2018 when the Bay Coast Railroad (BCR) ceased operations in Cape Charles and it was about to go under the cutting torch. Like other railroad stock, the locomotive had been built to last. . . . — — Map (db m302123) HM
A Small Fortress
This room is the casemate of Winslow Battery. Built in 1942, this bunker housed the fort's big guns — two-16-inch 50-caliber barrels.
If you were in this room when the artillery was operational, you would have been . . . — — Map (db m302092) HM
The building is the reconstructed railroad passenger station that once served Bloxom, Virginia, a town about 44 miles south of here. Built in the early 1900s, the station conforms to the architecture used in Pennsylvania Railroad passenger . . . — — Map (db m302118) HM
This circa 1950s, fifty-foot, general service box car is an example of a standard design widely used since the 1940s and commonly seen on American railroads through the 1980s. It has a single sliding door on each side; the door at the end of the . . . — — Map (db m302120) HM
Our caboose is now in its 5th life. Originally built for the Wheeling & Lake Erie Railroad in 1948-49 (1st life), in its Ironville, Ohio, shop, it is 34 feet + 3 inches long and weighs 22.7 tons. A bright red caboose, long a trademark of . . . — — Map (db m302128) HM
The Town of Cape Charles was founded in 1884 by Alexander Cassatt and William L. Scott as the southern terminusof the New York, Philadelphia & Norfolk Railroad. The extension of tracks south from Maryland to Cape Charles opened the Northeastern . . . — — Map (db m48952) HM
Constructed in 1928, this school opened about 1930 for African American children in Cape Charles during
legalized segregation. The building was constructed with contributions from the local African American
community, the State Literary Fund, . . . — — Map (db m51004) HM
This building was constructed in 1901 by R.D.L. Fletcher, Jennings W. Waples, and W.B. Wilson, owners of Cape Charles Ice & Lumber Co., who moved the business to this location from south of the harbor. It is believed to be the first building in . . . — (db m263358) HM
SS Delmarva, SS Princess Anne, and the SS Pocahontas operated out of Cape Charles to Little Creek, VA, from about 1933 to 1950. The first two vessels handled the traffic from 1933 to 1941. In 1941, the SS Pocahontas was built to . . . — — Map (db m52213) HM
A Changing Way of Life…
Growth Followed the Rails
The Eastern Shore of Virginia, one of the earliest colonized areas in North America, remained a seafood and agricultural region with scattered small towns until the 1880s.
The . . . — — Map (db m206447) HM
A meteor/comet two miles wide crossed paths with Earth 35 million years ago. Moving at the speed of 21 miles per second, it crashed here, and what is today the town of Cape Charles, creating the sixth largest impact crater on earth.
The meteor . . . — — Map (db m85789) HM
• Our first line of defense against coastal storms and the forces of wind and waves.
• Help protect inland areas from flooding and damage.
• Sand storage areas that supply sand to eroded beaches during . . . — — Map (db m302135) HM
Farming is an important part of the Eastern Shore's history. Early crops were mostly grains and some tobacco. When the ferry and railroad arrived, the area became less isolated, vegetables became more profitable.
[Captions:] . . . — — Map (db m302096) HM
In 1882, A.J. Cassatt laid out a new railroad between Pokomoke, MD, and Cape Charles. Construction began April, 1884, the last spike was driven on October 25, 1884.
A.J. Cassatt enhanced the dredging of Cape Charles harbor and designed huge . . . — — Map (db m203786) HM
Elijah Baker, Baptist preacher, began his ministry in Lunenburg County. As an itinerant in the 1770s, he helped found several churches in the counties along the James and York Rivers. He arrived in this area on Easter Sunday 1776 and traveled to . . . — — Map (db m154163) HM
who landed at Hunt's Point, Old Plantation Creek, on Easter Sunday 1776 and the same day preached the first Baptist sermon, “At the End of a Horsing Tree.” Opposition of the established church caused him to be deported; but kind Providence brought . . . — — Map (db m224172) HM
The fertile fields and plentiful resources that drew Native Americans to Virginia's Eastern Shore similarly enticed European settlers, who came to the region not long after the Jamestown colony was settled in 1607. The archaeological sites at and . . . — — Map (db m302103) HM
Virginia’s southernmost barrier island includes about 1,850 acres of constantly shifting sand. Established as a refuge in 1969, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service acquired the last 25 acres of land in 2000.
Protection Fisherman Island . . . — — Map (db m98484) HM
Earliest of railroad signals used wooden balls painted red, white or black. When track was clear, ball was hoisted by station agent. At night a lantern would be attached to the ball. — — Map (db m302117) HM
A Guiding Light
Imagine sailing the Atlantic in the 19th century, before GPS navigation. Sailors looking for the northern entrance to the Chesapeake Bay would look no further than the rhythmically flashing beacon atop the Cape Charles . . . — — Map (db m302097) HM
When the English first visited the Eastern Shore in 1608, they found an area which had been inhabited for centuries by Algonquian Indian Tribes. Today archaeologists have found on or near the Arlington Plantation, shards of ceramics known as . . . — — Map (db m98787) HM
The Cape Charles Historical Society dedicates the historic BCR 2000 locomotive to Jerry Lewis for his longtime service with Eastern Shore railroads. and his work to save this iconic reminder of the once booming railroad operations that created . . . — — Map (db m302125) HM
This small white building is known as the "Jetty House" because of its original location on the north jetty of the Cape Charles Harbor. The harbor was created in 1883 by the New York Philadelphia & Norfolk Railroad to provide a terminal for . . . — — Map (db m302116) HM
Each fall, the refuge comes alive with color and sound as millions of birds pass through during their annual southward migration.
On the Move
Driven by instinct, many birds migrate back and forth between their summer breeding . . . — — Map (db m302085) HM
In 1776, county officials took
oath of fidelity to virginia.
Provided men, food & supplies
during ficht for independence
despite threat of privateers. — — Map (db m299678) HM
Exploratory digs here in 1988 and 1994 uncovered a three brick wide foundation of an extraordinary 17th century home. Measuring 54 feet by 43.5 feet, this huge footing supported a structure described in 1709 as a "…Dwelling House built of brick … . . . — — Map (db m98785) HM
From 1879-1880, Peter Jacob Carter was a keeper of the Cherrystone Bar lighthouse that was located just offshore in front of you. It was the third federal job for a remarkable man who was born into enslavement just a few miles north of here in . . . — — Map (db m302133) HM
The structure before you was the elevated pitot house of the car float, or bay barge, Captain Edward Richardson. The barge was built by New York Shipbuilding in Camden, New Jersey for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company (PRR) and launched in . . . — — Map (db m302129) HM
Rails from the original tracks
laid on the riprap jetty in 1884
by the New York,
Philadelphia & Norfolk Railroad,
for officials to spend the night and
dine overlooking the Chesapeake Bay.
Presented in 1995
by the Eastern Shore . . . — — Map (db m61362) HM
The Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac (RF&P) Railroad had baggage cars in their passenger trains; this car, #190, was built in the 1930s for that service. The portion of the car with the smaller door was reserved for the Railway Express Agency . . . — — Map (db m302127) HM
This strategic location, at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, has proven ideal not only for migratory birds but also for defending our nation's coastline.
World War II at our Doorstep
In 1940, the country readied for war. This site . . . — — Map (db m302086) HM
During the early decades of the l7th century, natives of Angola were brought to the Caribbean islands to work on the tobacco and sugar plantations. From there they were brought to Virginia. In 1619 a Dutch man-o-war ship brought the first Negroes . . . — — Map (db m98793) HM
This double walled, 10,000 gallon, circa 1950s tank car was made for the U.S. Army by the General American Transportation Corporation (now GATX) in Chicago, Illinois. When it operated on the Eastern Shore Railroad (ESHR), predecessor of the Bay . . . — — Map (db m302122) HM
(Side 1)
Veterans War Memorial
Dedicated by
American Legion
Northampton
Post 56
Cape Charles, VA.
1989
World War II
W. Richard Karla • Joe Restein II • Thomas Savage • Charles K. Bennett • George E. Ward, Jr. • . . . — — Map (db m206348) WM
Strategically located at the southernmost point of the Eastern Shore of Virginia, Fisherman Island is a vital habitat for the birds and animals that live and nest there and stop off on their journey south. Before it was a wildlife refuge, the . . . — — Map (db m302095) HM
This preserve is the culmination of years of effort by several groups to ensure its permanent protection. It is now owned by The Archaeological Conservancy, and contains the remains of archaeological sites ranging from prehistoric settlement . . . — — Map (db m302099) HM
Fort John Custis was defended by a number of batteries with various artillery, including Battery Winslow with its two 16-inch guns. These large guns were similar to the ones used on the battleships of World War II. A rail system was laid . . . — — Map (db m302089) HM
