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Virginia Beach has a long, colorful history. One
of the first accounts of European connection comes
with the arrival of three ships that landed in April
of 1607. The occupants were so glad to see land,
they got out at what is now Cape Henry and
thanked God for their arrival and asked for His blessing
on their venture. A permanent memorial, First Landing
Cross stands at the site of their worship service,
which was 13 years before the Pilgrims at Plymouth
and two weeks before those same wave-tossed Englishmen
established their permanent settlement at Jamestown.
Prior to the English, the Spanish had claimed
what was to become Cape Henry and the native-named
Chesapeake Bay (meaning "mother of waters")
as the northern boundary to their colony of Florida!
The Spanish had some fatal difficulties with the
indigenous population and did not remain long in
what was renamed Virginia by English colonists who
arrived just south of this area in 1584. In honour
of the Virgin Queen, Elizabeth I, the name
Virginia became the permanent name of the colony,
later of this state and so too, the title of this
city.
The local area was colonized soon after Jamestown
became established as the capital of the colony,
since good water access was like living on the major
highways of the era. The local government was part
of the county of Princess Anne. Most of the
population lived off the Lynnhaven River,
with rich farmland, sheltering coves and convenient
access to the Chesapeake, yet far enough away from
the oceanfront and possible Spanish or pirate raids.
The infamous pirate Blackbeard and his crew
were known to frequent the shores along the bay and
oceanfront in what is now First Landing State
Park. The pirate band used the tall trees and
sand dunes as lookout perches to watch for the white
billowy sails of incoming or outgoing merchant ships.
Because of the losses the colony sustained due to
his piracy, Blackbeard was finally hunted down and
beheaded off the Carolina coast by decree of Virginia's
colonial governor.
One Lynnhaven River locale has an interesting history.
The Witchduck area was literally named after
the place citizens of Princess Anne County were known
to duck convicted "witches" in the latter
part of the 17th and early 18th centuries. The "witch"
would be tied thumbs to toes and "ducked"
into the brink. If the "witch" survived
the underwater trial, she was considered guilty,
if she didn't survive, well? In 1706, local resident
Grace Sherwood was one of the ladies who was
tried for witchcraft. She was taken to the capital
at Williamsburg for trial. Documentation of her first
trial is used in a program about the event in Colonial
Williamsburg; where she was found not guilty
because of "belief in reason and science".
However, Grace was later retried back home in Princess
Anne (before double jeopardy?) and it was witnessed
that she survived the ducking! It seems she untied
her knots underwater and swam to the opposite shore,
where she stood in the buff, smiled and waved to
the crowd.
The first and second centuries of colonization, in
what is now Virginia Beach, are documented in several
homes from those early days. The brick Adam Thoroughgood
House was believed to have been built in the
late 17th century. Its rugged simplicity evokes ties
to a direct line of medieval English architecture.
The Lynnhaven House, a story-and-a-half brick
structure was built in 1725 and is 85% original.
The Francis Land House is a brick Georgian-style
dwelling with a gambrel roof and was also built in
the 18th century. Upper Wolfsnare was built
in 1759 by Thomas Walke, III and is also a Virginia
Landmark Home. All four houses have been restored
by local and/or national preservation groups, are
filled with period antiques, possess extensive gardens,
and are open to the public.
The most decisive naval battle of the American
Revolution took place off Cape Henry in September
1781, when the French Fleet, led by Admiral François
Joseph Paul Comte de Grasse halted the progression
of the British Fleet into the mouth of the Chesapeake.
The Battle of the Capes stopped the British
in their futile effort to rescue Lord Cornwallis
from the American and French forces at Yorktown and
thus ultimately led to the end of the war.
After the Revolution, the new Congress decided that
Cape Henry needed a lighthouse to protect
sea-going vessels from running aground on the shifting
shoals at the entrance of the Bay. Old Cape Henry
Lighthouse at Ft. Story still stands alongside
its contemporary replacement which was built in 1881.
The "Old" 1791 light was the first and
still the oldest lighthouse built by the Federal
government. Hike to the top and take a good look
around!
In 1824, the restored Princess Anne Courthouse
was built inland away from the Lynnhaven River, in
its present location on Princess Anne Road. Now part
of the Municipal Center, the courthouse has been
beautifully integrated into the current municipal
complex which houses the executive, legislative and
judicial departments for all of Virginia Beach.
During the Civil War, the area was in control
of Federal troops camped at Kempsville, Pleasure
House Beach and at a Federal Prison in Pungo.
Many homes and buildings in the countryside were
burned by the federals since the Confederate supporters
were known to lead raids on the Union garrisons.
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