A Short History of Cape Charles, Part 1

In June 1883 William L. Scott of Erie, Pennsylvania, bought from the heirs of the late Gov. Tazewell an estate consisting of about 2650 acres at the cost of $55,000. Mr. Scott deeded part of this acreage to the New York, Philadelphia and Norfolk Railroad known as the N. Y. P. & N., the charter having been previously granted to Messrs, Cassett, Scott, Cartis Brothers, and others for said railroad.

In the same year 1883 dredging for the harbor began, but was not completed for two years. The mud from this dredging was carried out and dumped in the Chesapeake Bay. Mr. George C. Ames, a farmer living near Cape Charles, is the only one now living so far as I know, who helped in the dredging for the harbor.

Mr. Scott built wooden docks on the South side of the harbor and also three oysters houses, the North and East sides being used by the railroad.

The Railroad track was completed to the Bay, on Saturday afternoon, October 25, 1884, just as the sun went down. Having been invited by Mr. Keller, an official, my sisters, their house guests and I rode out on a construction train to Bay View Station. This was the first train to leave Cape Charles stopping every few hundred yards to pick up laborers who had been filling in the tracks and carrying these men to their bunk houses about four miles from the harbor.

The passenger, mail and express trains began running in November, 1884.

Mr. McConkey was the first Superintendent, committing suicide in about four weeks after assuming the position in the fall of 1884, and Mr. H. W. Dunne succeeded him serving for several years and died in office. These were the only Superintendents to die during active service.

In November 1884 the "Jane Mosley," a boat chartered by the railroad from Washington Steamboat Company, and commanded by Capt. Tom Scott went up to Cherrystone Wharf and tied up for the night. The next morning Capt. Scott brought the "Jane Mosley" into the Cape Charles Harbor to see the conditions and this boat soon began its regular run to Norfolk. On this boat as Quartermaster was a young man named Bob McGuire. This young man continued in the service for a great many years and before he retired was Captain of various passenger steamers. About a month later the "Jane Mosley" on leaving the dock at Cape Charles ran into a large anchor holding a dredging boat and being made of wood had a hole punched into the bottom and sank in the harbor, but was repaired and continued in the service for some time.

In 1885 the steamer "Cape Charles" was built to take the place of the "Jane Mosley." This boat was a large side wheeler with tracks on both sides to carry sleeping cars and continued on the run until 1889.

The passengers at this time landed near the Superintendent's office where the waiting room was located. Beginning in 1889 the passengers have since been landed at the freight house.

In 1886 the "Old Point" came into service, a side wheeler, 160 feet long and 30 feet beam and went to Richmond, calling at Old Point Comfort and Newport News. The service to Richmond was discontinued in a year or two and the steamer went to Old Point and Norfolk, making two boats a day leaving Cape Charles. In 1889 the "New York," the first propeller, 200 feet long, 31 feet beam was built for the run to Norfolk, and following this boat was the "Pennsylvania" in 1900, a very much larger boat, 260 feet long, 36 feet beam. In 1907 the "Maryland" was built with the same dimensions.

The tug "Norfolk" was the first tug to come in the harbor towing a wooden barge carrying eight freight cars. A few months later the tug "Portsmouth" was put into service. These two tugs are still on the run. Many tugs have since been added to the fleet with steel barges to carry from 23 to 32 railroad freight cars.

Situated about fourteen miles South of the terminus was the famous Cape Charles opposing Cape Henry forming the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay. For reasons of advertising the name Cape Charles was chosen for the town that was slowly building up to the North of the railroad. Cape Charles was built where there had been an old Indian settlement. In 1903, '04 and '05 a bank washed away, leaving a large pile of oyster, clam and scallop shells three or four feet deep and as there was never any white settlement near here this could have only been made by the Indians.

The town of Cape Charles was started in 1883 and incorporated March 1, 1886. It was originally laid out in a perfect square; six avenues long and six streets deep. To the west of the town was a pine woods, several ponds, and a chain of sand hills facing the Bay.

C. H. Walbridge, manager of the Scott Estate, was appointed as the first mayor, an honorary appointment, and Messrs. G. W. Russell, B. F. Kellogg, B. T. Fitchett, S. B. Travis, G. W. Widgeon, and L. E. Mumford were appointed as councilmen. They held their first meeting April 29, 1886. On May 29, 1886, Mr. Hank was elected mayor, he was the chief clerk for H. W. Dunne, Superintendent of the railroad. Mr. B. T. Ames was appointed as first sergeant.

The first building ever erected was in the fall of 1883, a little frame building put up by a Mr. Stevens from North Carolina at the present site of Savage's Drug Store to be used as a bar room. In February, 1885, Mr. Tom Parsons bought this building and enlarged it, continuing the same business; he added a restaurant, a few groceries and heavy clothing for watermen, making him the first merchant in town. In 1891 this building was burned.

The oldest house now in Cape Charles is a dwelling just east of the Municipal building on Mason Avenue, built late in the fall of 1883. It was built on the railroad property, but later moved across the street to its present site. It had four rooms, two up and two down with an added kitchen and was Cape Charles' first hotel with Mr. Lit Sturgis as proprietor. Mr. Sturgis moved to a house on Randolph Avenue between Peach and Strawberry Streets continuing the same business and in 1886 opened up the Arlington Hotel just completed at the corner of Mason Avenue and Pine Street. This building was moved years later north on Pine Street to make room for the Bank Building which now occupies this corner.