Little Creek Ferry
Encyclopedia
The Little Creek-Cape Charles Ferry was a passenger ferry
service operating across the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay
from the 1930s until 1964. Known also as the Princess Anne-Kiptopeke Beach Ferry or Little Creek-Kiptopeke Beach Ferry, the service connected Virginia Beach, Virginia
(then Princess Anne County
) with Cape Charles
on the Eastern Shore of Virginia
.
Beginning in the 1940s the ferry began accommodating vehicles as well as passengers, with the service then linking the Ocean Highway
, a prominent coastal motor route.
The service was acquired by an agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1954, ceased operations in April, 1964, and was replaced by the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel
. During its peak, the Little Creek Ferry operated 90 one-way trips each day with seven vessels.
The southern terminus of the ferry service in Virginia Beach (originally Princess Anne County) remains accessible today, where it continues to bisect Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek
. The original northern terminus in Cape Charles also remains accessible, and these two terminals continue to serve railway barges that ferry rail cars — belonging to Bay Coast Railroad
, formerly the Eastern Shore Railroad
— across the mouth of the Bay.
In 1949, the northern terminus for ferry service was moved from Cape Charles to Kiptopeke where a new pier was completed in 1951 — shortening the 85 minute crossing by 20 minutes. That now defunct terminus with remnants of the original toll both lie within Kiptopeke State Park
, where a sign from the defunct Touring Motor Lodge remains near the former toll booth.
public service company
. The Pennsylvania Railroad
also had offered steamer passenger ferry service on the lower Chesapeake Bay between the Eastern Shore and Old Point Comfort
(near Hampton
) on the Virginia Peninsula
, among other points. The railroad announced it would discontinue service in 1953.
Largely in response to that, in 1954, by act of the Virginia General Assembly
, the Chesapeake Bay Ferry District and a related oversight commission were created, initially with the hopes of restoring that service. However, the governmental agency was soon authorized to sell toll revenue bond
s, acquire the still-operating private Little Creek Ferry and improve existing ferry service. However, the cross-bay service to Old Point Comfort was never restored.
Another automobile-ferry service from Old Point Comfort across Hampton Roads
to Willoughby Spit
was replaced in 1957 by the new Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel
, which followed the Norfolk-Portsmouth Bridge-Tunnel
(1952), and was the second bridge-tunnel
in Virginia. This stimulated interest in the feasibility of a similar crossing at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay.
In 1958, the district hired its first executive director, J. Clyde Morris
, a long-time governmental manager in Warwick County and the City of Newport News. Soon, steps to consider routing and implementation were underway. Consideration was given to service between the Eastern Shore and both the Peninsula and South Hampton Roads. Eventually, the shortest route, extending between the Eastern Shore and a point in Princess Anne County
at Chesapeake Beach (east of Little Creek, west of Lynnhaven Inlet), was selected. An option to also provide a fixed crossing link to Hampton and the Peninsula was not pursued.
In August 1960, the District sold US$200 million toll revenue bond
s and work began the following month to build the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel
, which opened in early 1964. Princess Anne County had consolidated with the City of Virginia Beach
less than a year earlier. Ferry riders were able to view the construction for 3½ years prior to its opening.
The SS Delmarva, SS Princess Anne operated out of Cape Charles to Little Creek from about 1933 to 1941. The SS Pocahontas
augmented service through 1950, with other ferries following later.
The flagship of the seven-ship fleet, the 367-ft. SS Pocahontas — which reportedly carried a cask containing earth from the grave in England of the legendary Native American
Princess Pocahontas
— carried 1,200 passengers and 120 vehicles. The six other ferries carried from 68 to 120 cars and up to 1,200 passengers. Service ran hourly until 1 a.m.
The Commonwealth of Virginia reused the name "Pocahontas" for the newest of the current ferryboats at the Jamestown-Scotland Ferry
on the James River
Several of the ferryboats from the defunct Little Creek-Cape Charles service were used to begin the Cape May-Lewes Ferry
, which inaugurated service on July 1, 1964 and carried traffic from U.S. Highway 9 across the 17-mile mouth of the Delaware Bay
between Cape May, New Jersey
and Lewes, Delaware
.
See: Model hull studies for the ferry boats Pocahontas and Princess Anne
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
service operating across the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
from the 1930s until 1964. Known also as the Princess Anne-Kiptopeke Beach Ferry or Little Creek-Kiptopeke Beach Ferry, the service connected Virginia Beach, Virginia
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Virginia Beach is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay...
(then Princess Anne County
Princess Anne County, Virginia
Princess Anne County is a former county which was created in the British Colony of Virginia and the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States in 1691. The county was merged into the city of Virginia Beach...
) with Cape Charles
Cape Charles, Virginia
Cape Charles is a town in Northampton County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,134 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Cape Charles is located at ....
on the Eastern Shore of Virginia
Eastern Shore of Virginia
The Eastern Shore of Virginia consists of two counties on the Atlantic coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The region is part of the Delmarva Peninsula and is separated from the rest of Virginia by the Chesapeake Bay. Its population was 45,553 as of 2010...
.
Beginning in the 1940s the ferry began accommodating vehicles as well as passengers, with the service then linking the Ocean Highway
Ocean Highway
Ocean Highway was a designation established early in the 20th century for a combination of roadways and water-crossings for motor vehicles which would generally traverse as close as possible to the Atlantic Ocean along the East Coast of the United States from Jacksonville, Florida to New Brunswick,...
, a prominent coastal motor route.
The service was acquired by an agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1954, ceased operations in April, 1964, and was replaced by the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel
Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel
The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel is a long fixed link crossing the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay and connecting the Delmarva Peninsula's Eastern Shore of Virginia with Virginia Beach and the metropolitan area of Hampton Roads, Virginia...
. During its peak, the Little Creek Ferry operated 90 one-way trips each day with seven vessels.
The southern terminus of the ferry service in Virginia Beach (originally Princess Anne County) remains accessible today, where it continues to bisect Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek
Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek
The Naval Amphibious Base, Little Creek is the major operating base for the Amphibious Forces in the United States Navy's Atlantic Fleet. The base comprises four locations in three states, including almost 12,000 acres of real estate. Its Little Creek location in Virginia Beach, Virginia totals...
. The original northern terminus in Cape Charles also remains accessible, and these two terminals continue to serve railway barges that ferry rail cars — belonging to Bay Coast Railroad
Bay Coast Railroad
The Bay Coast Railroad operates the former Eastern Shore Railroad line from Pocomoke City, Maryland, to Norfolk, Virginia. The Bay Coast Railroad interchanges with the Norfolk Southern Railway at both Norfolk, Virginia and Pocomoke City, Maryland.-History:...
, formerly the Eastern Shore Railroad
Eastern Shore Railroad
The Eastern Shore Railroad, Inc. was a Class III short-line railroad that began operations in October 1981 on the 96 mile former Virginia and Maryland Railroad line on the Delmarva Peninsula...
— across the mouth of the Bay.
In 1949, the northern terminus for ferry service was moved from Cape Charles to Kiptopeke where a new pier was completed in 1951 — shortening the 85 minute crossing by 20 minutes. That now defunct terminus with remnants of the original toll both lie within Kiptopeke State Park
Kiptopeke State Park
Kiptopeke State Park is a state park located in the southern end of the Eastern Shore of Virginia. From 1949, the site was owned by the Virginia Ferry Corporation and used through 1964 as the northern terminus for the Little Creek-Cape Charles Ferry service. The park has a number of recreational...
, where a sign from the defunct Touring Motor Lodge remains near the former toll booth.
- Southern Terminus
- Northern Terminus (original, Cape Charles)
- Northern Terminus (later location, Kiptopke)
Chesapeake Bay Ferry District
The ferry service was operated initially by the Virginia Ferry Corporation, a VirginiaVirginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
public service company
Public service company
A public service company is a corporation or other non-governmental business entity which delivers public services - certain services considered essential to the public interest...
. The Pennsylvania Railroad
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
also had offered steamer passenger ferry service on the lower Chesapeake Bay between the Eastern Shore and Old Point Comfort
Old Point Comfort
Old Point Comfort is a point of land located in the independent city of Hampton. It lies at the extreme tip of the Virginia Peninsula at the mouth of Hampton Roads in the United States....
(near Hampton
Hampton, Virginia
Hampton is an independent city that is not part of any county in Southeast Virginia. Its population is 137,436. As one of the seven major cities that compose the Hampton Roads metropolitan area, it is on the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula. Located on the Hampton Roads Beltway, it hosts...
) on the Virginia Peninsula
Virginia Peninsula
The Virginia Peninsula is a peninsula in southeast Virginia, USA, bounded by the York River, James River, Hampton Roads and Chesapeake Bay.Hampton Roads is the common name for the metropolitan area that surrounds the body of water of the same name...
, among other points. The railroad announced it would discontinue service in 1953.
Largely in response to that, in 1954, by act of the Virginia General Assembly
Virginia General Assembly
The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the oldest legislative body in the Western Hemisphere, established on July 30, 1619. The General Assembly is a bicameral body consisting of a lower house, the Virginia House of Delegates, with 100 members,...
, the Chesapeake Bay Ferry District and a related oversight commission were created, initially with the hopes of restoring that service. However, the governmental agency was soon authorized to sell toll revenue bond
Toll revenue bond
A toll revenue bond is a financial promissory note usually issued to generate funds for the construction and/or operation of a public accommodation such as an expressway, bridge, or tunnel...
s, acquire the still-operating private Little Creek Ferry and improve existing ferry service. However, the cross-bay service to Old Point Comfort was never restored.
Another automobile-ferry service from Old Point Comfort across Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...
to Willoughby Spit
Willoughby Spit
Willoughby Spit is a peninsula of land in the independent city of Norfolk, Virginia in the United States. It is bordered by water on three sides: the Chesapeake Bay to the north, Hampton Roads to the west, and Willoughby Bay to the south.- History :...
was replaced in 1957 by the new Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel
Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel
The Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel is the -long Hampton Roads crossing for Interstate 64 and U.S. Route 60. It is a four-lane facility comprising bridges, trestles, man-made islands, and tunnels under the main shipping channels for Hampton Roads harbor in the southeastern portion of Virginia in the...
, which followed the Norfolk-Portsmouth Bridge-Tunnel
Norfolk-Portsmouth Bridge-Tunnel
The Norfolk–Portsmouth Bridge-Tunnel was a project to connect downtown Norfolk, Virginia, United States with downtown Portsmouth via a drawbridge over the Eastern Branch of the Elizabeth River and a tunnel under the Southern Branch...
(1952), and was the second bridge-tunnel
Bridge-tunnel
A fixed link, fixed crossing, or bridge-tunnel is a persistent, unbroken road or rail connection across water that uses some combination of bridges, tunnels, and causeways and does not involve intermittent connections such as drawbridges or ferries.The Confederation Bridge was commonly referred to...
in Virginia. This stimulated interest in the feasibility of a similar crossing at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay.
Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel
A portion of the bond revenue used to purchase the Virginia Ferry Corporation was set aside to study and determine the feasibility of a fixed crossing of the lower bay. It was determined that a bridge-tunnel complex was feasible,In 1958, the district hired its first executive director, J. Clyde Morris
J. Clyde Morris
J. Clyde Morris was a civic leader in the Hampton Roads region of southeastern Virginia. His career spanned 32 years of public service.Morris served as the only city manager of the short-lived City of Warwick in the Virginia Peninsula subregion from 1952 to 1958...
, a long-time governmental manager in Warwick County and the City of Newport News. Soon, steps to consider routing and implementation were underway. Consideration was given to service between the Eastern Shore and both the Peninsula and South Hampton Roads. Eventually, the shortest route, extending between the Eastern Shore and a point in Princess Anne County
Princess Anne County, Virginia
Princess Anne County is a former county which was created in the British Colony of Virginia and the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States in 1691. The county was merged into the city of Virginia Beach...
at Chesapeake Beach (east of Little Creek, west of Lynnhaven Inlet), was selected. An option to also provide a fixed crossing link to Hampton and the Peninsula was not pursued.
In August 1960, the District sold US$200 million toll revenue bond
Toll revenue bond
A toll revenue bond is a financial promissory note usually issued to generate funds for the construction and/or operation of a public accommodation such as an expressway, bridge, or tunnel...
s and work began the following month to build the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel
Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel
The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel is a long fixed link crossing the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay and connecting the Delmarva Peninsula's Eastern Shore of Virginia with Virginia Beach and the metropolitan area of Hampton Roads, Virginia...
, which opened in early 1964. Princess Anne County had consolidated with the City of Virginia Beach
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Virginia Beach is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay...
less than a year earlier. Ferry riders were able to view the construction for 3½ years prior to its opening.
Operations
The ferry service took 85 minutes during clear weather.The SS Delmarva, SS Princess Anne operated out of Cape Charles to Little Creek from about 1933 to 1941. The SS Pocahontas
SS Pocahontas
A number of steamships have been name Pocahontas, including -, an ocean liner in service 1920-22, a Liberty ship in service 1942-60...
augmented service through 1950, with other ferries following later.
The flagship of the seven-ship fleet, the 367-ft. SS Pocahontas — which reportedly carried a cask containing earth from the grave in England of the legendary Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
Princess Pocahontas
Pocahontas
Pocahontas was a Virginia Indian notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter of Chief Powhatan, the head of a network of tributary tribal nations in Tidewater Virginia...
— carried 1,200 passengers and 120 vehicles. The six other ferries carried from 68 to 120 cars and up to 1,200 passengers. Service ran hourly until 1 a.m.
The Commonwealth of Virginia reused the name "Pocahontas" for the newest of the current ferryboats at the Jamestown-Scotland Ferry
Jamestown Ferry
The Jamestown Ferry is a free automobile and bus ferry service across a navigable portion of the James River in Virginia...
on the James River
James River (Virginia)
The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is long, extending to if one includes the Jackson River, the longer of its two source tributaries. The James River drains a catchment comprising . The watershed includes about 4% open water and an area with a population of 2.5 million...
Several of the ferryboats from the defunct Little Creek-Cape Charles service were used to begin the Cape May-Lewes Ferry
Cape May-Lewes Ferry
The Cape May – Lewes Ferry is a ferry system that traverses a 17-mile crossing of the Delaware Bay to connect Cape May, New Jersey with Lewes, Delaware. The ferry doubles as a section of U.S. Route 9.-The system:...
, which inaugurated service on July 1, 1964 and carried traffic from U.S. Highway 9 across the 17-mile mouth of the Delaware Bay
Delaware Bay
Delaware Bay is a major estuary outlet of the Delaware River on the Northeast seaboard of the United States whose fresh water mixes for many miles with the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. It is in area. The bay is bordered by the State of New Jersey and the State of Delaware...
between Cape May, New Jersey
Cape May, New Jersey
Cape May is a city at the southern tip of Cape May Peninsula in Cape May County, New Jersey, where the Delaware Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean and is one of the country's oldest vacation resort destinations. It is part of the Ocean City Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 United States...
and Lewes, Delaware
Lewes, Delaware
Lewes is an incorporated city in Sussex County, Delaware, USA, on the Delmarva Peninsula. According to the 2010 census, the population is 2,747, a decrease of 6.3% from 2000....
.
See: Model hull studies for the ferry boats Pocahontas and Princess Anne