Cape Charles Historic District

Cape Charles Historic District is a national historic district located at Cape Charles, Northampton County, Virginia. The Town was surveyed by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources in 1989, and a National Register Historic District was created and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[3]

Cape Charles Historic District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
Virginia Landmarks Register
Cape Charles Memorial Library, April 2013
Location	Roughly bounded by Washington, Bay and Mason Aves. and Fig St., Cape Charles, Virginia
Coordinates	37°16′11″N 76°00′59″W
Area	152 acres (62 ha)
Built	1883
Architect	Multiple
Architectural style	Late 19th And 20th Century Revivals, Bungalow/craftsman, Late Victorian
NRHP reference No.	90002122[1]
VLR No.	182-0002
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	January 3, 1991
Designated VLR	August 15, 1989[2]

Pennsylvania politician, businessman and horse aficionado William Lawrence Scott caused Pocomoke City, Maryland, engineer Robert Bauman to lay out a town at the southern terminus of his New York, Philadelphia and Norfolk Railroad, which was constructed in the 1880s and allowed agricultural produce and goods from the Delmarva Peninsula to be shipped across the Chesapeake Bay much more economically than previously. The town grew as the railroad brought passengers and freight, but stagnated after World War II and especially after passenger rail service ended in 1958. Ferry service also ended about three decades ago.[4]

The district encompasses 526 contributing buildings and 3 contributing structures in the town of Cape Charles. The buildings relate to the town's development as a harbor and railroad town in the late-19th and early-20th century. Notable buildings include the Seafood Headquarters (c. 1886), McCrory's Store annex (c. 1900), Mitchell House, Jack Moore House (c. 1910), A. L. Detwiler House (1919), Kellogg House (1924), Mumford Bank (c. 1895), Parsons Building, Watson's Hardware, Mack Building, Palace Theatre, Municipal Building, St. Stephen's African Methodist Episcopal Church (1885, 1912), St. Charles Roman Catholic Church (1889), Trinity United Methodist Church (1893), the former Presbyterian church (1902, Cape Charles Memorial Library), First Presbyterian Church (1926), and U.S. Post Office (1932).[5]

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.[1]

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
2. "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Archived from the original on 2013-09-21. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
3. http://www.co.northampton.va.us/departments/comp_plan/Appendix%2002%20CapeCharlesCompPlan.pdf
4. NRIS
5. David A. Edwards and John S. Salmin (August 1989). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Cape Charles Historic District" (PDF). Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-08-13. Retrieved 2013-08-23. and Accompanying photo and Accompanying map