Smith Island, Virginia
Encyclopedia
Smith Island is located adjacent to the southern end of the Eastern Shore
of Virginia
in Northampton County
near Cape Charles
.
In 1614, Governor Thomas Dale
sent 20 men, under Lieutenant William Craddock, to the area to establish a salt works and to catch fish for the colonists. They intended to make salt by boiling down the sea water. They settled along Old Plantation Creek at Dale's Gift on the mainland, but established the salt works on Smith Island.
Cape Charles Lighthouse
is located on Smith Island.
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...
of Virginia
Virginia
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...
in Northampton County
Northampton County, Virginia
As of the census of 2010, there were 12,389 people, 5,321 households, and 3,543 families residing in the county. The population density was 63 people per square mile . There were 6,547 housing units at an average density of 32 per square mile...
near Cape Charles
Cape Charles
Cape Charles may refer to:*Cape Charles, Virginia, a town in Northampton County, Virginia*Cape Charles , headland or cape in Northampton County, Virginia...
.
In 1614, Governor Thomas Dale
Thomas Dale
Sir Thomas Dale was an English naval commander and deputy-governor of the Virginia Colony in 1611 and from 1614 to 1616. Governor Dale is best remembered for the energy and the extreme rigour of his administration in Virginia, which established order and in various ways seems to have benefited the...
sent 20 men, under Lieutenant William Craddock, to the area to establish a salt works and to catch fish for the colonists. They intended to make salt by boiling down the sea water. They settled along Old Plantation Creek at Dale's Gift on the mainland, but established the salt works on Smith Island.
Cape Charles Lighthouse
Cape Charles Light
The current Cape Charles Light is a skeleton tower lighthouse at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay on Smith Island. It is the tallest lighthouse in Virginia and the second tallest in the United States...
is located on Smith Island.