Virginia Beach Yellow Directory

The history of Virginia Beach is a romantic tangle of ancient civilizations and modern day amenities that rival any Caribbean resort. There is the history of an ancient people called the Chesepians who were the indigenous American Indians. They inhabited the area for thousands of years around the banks of what we now call the Chesapeake Bay. Their village was called Chesepoic and is today the independent city of Virginia Beach. From 1584 to the 1700’s many attempts at colonizing Virginia took place. The first colonists landed on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay area where it meets the Atlantic Ocean on the Virginia coastline in 1607 and named it Cape Henry. There were over 100 people who made the landing. They headed further inland and developed a settlement that would be successful. At the time they had no understanding of the impact the name would have in the development of America. They named the settlement Jamestown. Other settlements slowly became established and Virginia Beach became a very busy port. Many pirates visited the Virginia coast in this area. There are many big shipwrecks located off the coastal area in Virginia Beach. Chesapeake Bay is the biggest inland waterway in America. The bay joins the Atlantic ocean and creates one of the most beautiful ecosystems with huge cypress trees and many plants found only here in the lagoons and marshes. The Virginia Beach area was developed over the years until it was transformed into the beautiful seaside resort that it is today.

If you visit the Virginia beach area you will still see memories of the past in the lighthouse that has guided fishing boats, Merchant vessels and many others into the bay since 1792. In 1881, the Cape Henry Lighthouse was replaced with a ’new’ lighthouse. But, you can still see the original lighthouse at Fort Story. Once you are in the independent city of Virginia Beach you can visit a 200 year old plantation house that was built from circa 1805 to 1810. The original owner was Francis Land. This beautiful historic home and acreage is now a museum and offers guided tours six days a week. The address 3131 Virginia Beach Road, Virginia Beach, VA 23452. The phone number is 757-431-4000.

In 1880, Colonel Marshall Parks envisioned a resort like the ones built farther northeast in New Jersey. He built a wooden pavilion at the end of seventeenth street where people had picnics and danced. In 1882, the railroad was completed and later came directly to this area where the Virginia Beach Hotel was erected by his company, The Virginia Beach Railroad and Improvement Company. It was the first hotel to be built on the oceanfront side of Virginia Beach and was completed in 1883. The hotel was three stories tall and encompassed two oceanfront blocks between fourteenth and sixteenth streets. With the arrival of the railroad and electricity in the 1800’s, the boom began for the resort town of Virginia Beach. In 1888, the Virginia Beach Railroad Hotel was renamed The Princess Ann Hotel after the Kings favorite daughter. This is recalled as the birth of Virginia Beach. In 1891, guests of the hotel watched as offshore, rescuers tried to assist during the wreck of the Norwegian vessel the Dictator. The ships figurehead washed ashore and was placed as a monument to those who lost their lives in the wreck. This event inspired the people of Virginia Beach to erect a monument known as the Norwegian Lady Monument. There is an identical monument in Norway.

Virginia beach was now on it’s way to becoming a popular resort town. In 1927, a grand hotel, the Cavalier Hotel lured the wealthiest clientele to the area. In 1952, Virginia Beach became an independent city and today the area offers yearly activities and lush beauty to it’s visitors. The beautiful Atlantic ocean beach at Virginia Beach is the longest amusement beach in the world having thirty-five miles of waterfront property. And, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel is the longest bay bridge tunnel in the world. This is quite a sight to see. It amazes you to think of the engineering genius needed to create the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. The bridge-tunnel was opened in 1964 and it connects the mainland of Virginia to it‘s eastern shore.