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Virginia Beach History, Virginia

Virginia Beach has been listed as the city having the longest pleasure beach in the whole world in the Guinness Book of Records. The city also has several long protected areas of beaches, several state parks, large corporations, three military bases, historic sites and two universities.

The English colonists first landed on the site of Cape Henry on April 26, 1607 when they were bound for Jamestown. The first inhabitants were the Chesepians, who settled in the area known as the South Hampton Roads. The area now has become independent cities of Portsmouth, Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Chesapeake. It was Captain Christopher Newport with three ships and carrying 105 men arrived in the area of Virginia Beach after finishing a voyage of 144 days in 1607.

They settled at the meeting of the Atlantic Ocean and the Chesapeake Bay, which is also called the New World. Christopher Newport named it Cape Henry and dedicated to Henry Frederick, the eldest son of King James 1 of England and the Prince of Wales.

But, these colonists didn’t stay here long and shifted to Jamestown. Adam, an Englishman, became an indentured servant just at an age of 18 paying for passage to Virginia Colony. Thereby, Adam became a leading citizen of Virginia Beach and earned a lot of freedom.

He was even elected to the House of Burgesses in 1629 for Elizabeth Cittie. In the late 19th century, the area of small resort of Virginia Beach gradually grew in the Princess Anne County. The hotel opened in 1888 after the arrival of electricity and rail service. Guests of the new hotel experienced watching the wreck and the rescue efforts for the Norwegian bark Dictator in 1891.

The Virginia Beach Boulevard was completed and it extended from the oceanfront to Norfolk making the way for buses, automobiles, passenger rail services and trucks. In 1906, the resort of Virginia Beach finally got incorporated as a town.

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Old Coast Guard Station
travel tip by Sandro posted more then 30 days ago
Weather you are a history freak or you are interested in life saving, it doesn't matter, because the Old Coast Guard Station is for everyone. It is a small historical facility which presents life saving gears and people who became...