The Mountain Lioness: History and Hiking at Cape Henry Memorial/Lighthouse and First Landing State Park

Colonial National Park: Cape Henry Memorial

Cape Henry Lighthouses

First Landing State Park [VA]

Virginia Beach, VA

December 23, 2017

Summary:

My 2017 Christmas visit to my hometown has been a time to get more cancellation stamps on my National Parks passport. Two days ago, my mom and I explored Fort Monroe National Monument and also Jamestown, a component of Colonial National Historic Park. Now that it is the weekend, my dad is off work so he accompanied me on the day's explorations.

We begin with Cape Henry Memorial at Joint Expeditionary Base-Fort Story. My dad is retired military so getting on base was simple. If you do not have access to base with an ID, you can get a visitors pass at the gate. It is likely a very simple process. The Cape Henry Memorial is another of the three components of Colonial National Historic Park. We also climbed to the top of Cape Henry Lighthouse.

Down the road is First Landing State Park. It was a popular place to train while I was a cross country and track athlete in high school. I don't have any memory of going into any of the visitor centers and exploring the Shore Dr. entrance, so it was a new-ish experience for me.

Cape Henry Lighthouse Visitor Center

The Gear:

Sony A5100 Mirrorless Camera
Hoka Tracer 2 [Running Shoes]
National Parks Passport

The Story:

Cape Henry Memorial at Fort Story - Part of Colonial National Park

We arrived at Fort Story prior to 10:00. Finding the lighthouses was easy, it's a fairly small military base. And they are tall. The lighthouse visitor center doesn't open until 10:30 but that was no problem - we had plenty to do.

We read some of the signs explaining the history of the base. There is a wall of information below if American history, especially military history, is your thing. If not, then skip ahead on to the Memorial, lighthouse, and First Landing State Park sections. I won't be offended. Paraphrasing and writing this out helps me learn and retain the information better and gives me something to come back to.

Defending the Chesapeake Bay

The Chesapeake Bay spans 17 miles from Cape Henry to Cape Charles (on the Eastern Shore of Virginia). There is a bridge tunnel connecting the two nowadays.

The bay provides access to Baltimore and all over Hampton Roads. There has always been a need to defend Virginia's coast and waterways, starting with the first English settlers.

The construction of the fort at Jamestown in 1607 started establishing the first defenses.

More about Jamestown fort at this blog post to my visit 2 days prior to this one: Coming Soon

Another fort was built at Point Comfort
The Revolutionary War then brought about a revival of coastal defense where several defining battles and events occurred.

Fort Nelson was built on the Elizabeth River near Portsmouth
Another fort was built in the Norfolk area
During the siege of Yorktown, Admiral deGrasse of the French fleet took up a position at the entrance to the bay to prevent the British fleet from relieving Cornwallis. There is a statue of deGrasse pictured below from when we made our way over to the Cape Henry Memorial.

1813 - The waterways were unprotected. The next year, the British fleet sailed up the Chesapeake Bay and landed behind Washington. Once they departed, the United States began more construction.

1823 - They completed Fort Monroe at Old Point Comfort was complete

For Civil War history at Fort Monroe, check out this blog post: Coming Soon

Also 1823 - They started working on the foundation of Fort Calhoun across the harbor.

WWI - They expanded harbor defenses and hoped to project the firepower seaward to the Virginia Capes

They posted small caliber guns at both Cape Henry and Cape Charles, but it was difficult to have fully effective defense with a 17 mile entrance to the bay.
Once the war was over, the artillery garrisons were demobilized, but they continued to develop coastal artillery.

WWII - Modern coast artillery was on post with guns ranging from 6-inch to 16-inch

There was also a minefield across the bay
1942 - A German submarine attempted to get through the defenses but did not succeed

The Emerging Community

The lighthouses, life-saving stations, and pilots have guided and assisted many mariners from the earliest days of navigating the waters of the Chesapeake Bay. The Weather Service also came to Cape Henry.
In 1890, The Cape Henry Park and Land Company was chartered for development and timber interests. The area had been referred to as "the desert."
With all of these federal activities, a small community formed. Originally the only access was down the beach at low tide, but the railroad changed that.
1902 - A rail line to both Virginia Beach and Norfolk was established.
Newly built additions include a number of residences, the Seabreeze Hotel, stores, a post office, and O'Keefe's Tavern.
Two communities established themselves at Cape Henry before the U.S. Army arrived.

1) Located seaward, centered around the Hygeia Hotel and some substantial buildings
2) Northwest of the lighthouses adjacent to the original 300+ acres
The Cape Henry Syndicate platted out the land and laid out numbered streets.
Civilian men worked as farmers, fishermen, or in retail. The government employees worked at the lighthouse, Weather Station, or Life-Saving Station.

The government sent the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) to build up Seashore State Park (now called First Landing State Park) during the Great Depression.
With the emerging threat of war in Europe, the Army took over the civilian community and expanded its ownership of this land.

Fort Story Rises from the Dunes

1916 - U.S. Army arrived at Cape Henry and broke ground for a military installation. The initial mission was to provide a site for coastal defenses for the Chesapeake Bay's entrance.

Fort Story was named after the former Army Chief of Artillery, Major General John Patten Story

Between WWI and WWII - The post went to caretaker status but armament buildup continued with the emplacement of 16-inch howitzers.
1940 - There was a need for extra weapons, and many modern weapons were at Fort Story

The 24th Coast Artillery of the Virginia National Guard was activated and served through WWII where they manned the coastal artillery and placed a minefield across the bay's entrance.

After WWII, the guns were removed from the post and were replaced by companies of the Army Transportation Corps with the DUKW amphibious vehicle. This first gen amphibian was replaced by newer models which operated and trained at Fort Story. May of these units deployed to Vietnam.
1957 - During the manned Soviet bomber threat, the army established a surface to air missile system around the country. One Nike missile battery of this system was placed at Fort Story until 1974.
The 11th Transportation Battalion provided support during the Gulf War in 1991 and also in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Into the 21st Century

The location of Fort Story at the entrance to the Chesapeake Bay provides diverse opportunities for training. The Army's Joint Logistics-Over-The-Shore (JLOTS) training involves the variable tides and currents from both the bay of the ocean and also offers broad beaches, dunes, and coastal inland areas.
There are a total 250 homes on base for officer and enlisted personnel and has the Cape Henry Inn and Beach Club, an Armed Forces Recreation Center, providing resort accommodations for military personnel year-round.
2007 - Fort Story and First Landing State Park hosted several events in conjunction with the 400th anniversary of the landing of the English colonists at Cape Henry.

Fun fact! I played oboe in Bay Youth Symphony Orchestra in high school, and in 2007 we played at a 400th anniversary celebration festival.

The 11th Transportation Battalion assigned to the Sustainment Brigade at Fort Eustis is the main Army unit on post.

They conduct cargo transfer operations to air, sea, reail, and highway terminal, including multi-modal operations to include JLOTS operations.
Army and Navy reserve units train at Fort Story
The Navy Explosive Ordinal Disposal (EOD) Training and Evaluation Unit 2 conducts training and evaluation at Cape Henry. The SEALs use the beaches, waters, and a close quarter combat training range for their training. This also includes dive training.

Cape Henry Railroad

1880 - A temporary tramway was built to transport materials for construction of the new lighthouse. It was the first railroad to Cape Henry
1902 - The Chesapeake Transit Company opened an electric rail line from Norfolk to Cape Henry, which allowed a resort village to develop.
1904 - A brick passenger depot opened 250 yards from this sign.
Also in 1904 - This rail line merged with the Norfolk and Southern Railroad.
1914 - The year that the U.S. Army established Fort Story. They laid new track.
WWII - The tracks were used to transport artillery and ammunition for the coastal defense system.
1947 - Both commercial and passenger service to Cape Henry ended.

The beach was obviously right by the lighthouses. We walked in that direction, also in search of the Cape Henry Memorial.

This is a LARC-V, specifically LARC V-945. Wikipedia defines these as "an aluminium-hulled amphibious cargo vehicle capable of transporting 5 tons. It was developed in the United States during the 1950s, and is used in a variety of auxiliary roles to this day."

More importantly, how was it named?
L - Lighter,
A - Amphibious
R - Resupply,
C - Cargo,
V - 5 ton
Source: Wikipedia

I spotted the National Parks logo/sign quickly - The Cape Henry Memorial was pretty much right down the street.

The sign below has three components. You might as well call me Captain Obvious. We will start with the one in the middle because it makes sense.

Gateway to the Chesapeake Bay: The Cape Henry Memorial is a part of Colonial National Historic Park, along with Jamestown (1607 - the first permanent English settlement in 1607) and Yorktwon (1781 - the last decisive battle in the Revolutionary War).

Battle of the Capes (1781): This naval battle ultimately blocked the British fleet from Chesapeake Bay access, denying Cornwallis support in the battle at Yorktown. Admiral De Grasse of the French Navy sailed a fleet of 24 French ships into the bay bringing reinforcements and supplies to Yorktown. Admiral Graves of the British fleet had 19 ships that he sailed two days later. The battle lasted almost all of September 1781. No Americans fought in this battle, and it gave the opportunity for American independence when Cornwallis surrendered to Washington on October 19, 1781.

Cape Henry Memorial Cross: Basically it was erected in 1935 by the Daughters of the American Colonists. It serves as a reminder of the original oak cross that the colonists set up April 29, 1607. They named Cape Henry for Henry, Prince of Wales, the oldest son of King James I. The next day they entered the James River and searched for a location to establish a permanent settlement, which was Jamestown on May 13, 1607. This memorial "marks the beginning in a continuing chain of events which saw the shaping of American culture by English institutions and customs".

"I wish it was in my power to express to Congress how much I feel myself indebted to the Count deGrasse and his fleet." - George Washington (October 19, 1781)

And...

".. I consider myself infinitely happy to have been of some service to the United States...reserve me a place in your memory" - deGrasse (November 3, 1781)

And reserve a place in American memory they did. With this statue:

Francois Joseph Paul de Grasse

Here is the first photo among others where my dad is walking ahead of me and in the shot. I promise I wasn't following some random man around. There was a boardwalk to a little observation deck.

And the view from the deck.

Cape Henry Lighthouse

We had killed more than enough time that it was generously past the lighthouse opening time of 10:30. We entered the visitor center and bought the passes to go up. These passes are $8/person, so you need to decide if it's worth it to you because it is rather pricey. You may just get your urge fulfilled from the pictures below. More information can be found here: Preservation Virginia: Cape Henry Lighthouse. The money does go to Preservation Virginia, which goes towards a good cause.

They had three stamps:

Colonial National Park: Cape Henry Memorial
The Old Lighthouse
The New Lighthouse

We got past the secret gate!

The Old Cape Henry Lighthouse was erected in 1791 and lighted the entrance into the bay until 1881 (almost 100 years!). It is currently owned by the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities as deed in 1930 by the United States Congress.

The climb is a tight spiral staircase. It's a bit cramped, but I've definitely experienced worse. We were also fortunate that we were the only ones in the lighthouse at the time, so we didn't have the displeasure of other tourist traffic.

It was mostly stairs, then a ladder (seen further below) and then more stairs, then we reached the top! We got a good view of the new lighthouse and the bay. We could also see Virginia Beach Town Center, First Landing State Park, etc.

We took a selfie. There was also a historic roll of duct tape mounted on the window frame.

First Landing State Park - A Stop Along the John Smith Chesapeake National Trail

Once we climbed the lighthouse we traveled down Shore Dr to First Landing State Park. We turned left into the main trails area. Park admission was $5.00/vehicle.

I went into the trail visitor center asking about the stamp, and they said the stamp location is at the Chesapeake Bay Visitor Section across Shore Dr where the park's campground is. So we will have to stop by there on the way out.

They had some cool displays about the Chesapeake Bay Watershed and the different habitats at the park, complete with taxidermy animals and tree bark touching stations.

These include:

Maritime Forest - The woods that are in the park. A maritime forest needs sand dunes to shelter the trees from wind, waves, and some of the salt spray. The trees grow close to each other to form a tight canopy in order to protect themselves from the ocean winds. The shade conserves water for plants and attracts wildlife for protection and building homes.
Dunes and Beaches - Made from sand, waves, plants, and strong winds! The dunes replenish beaches with sand after big storms. As mentioned above about maritime forests, they protect inland habitats.
Bald Cypress Freshwater Swamp: Bald cypresses and swamps. And cypress knees!
Tidal Salt Marsh: Quiet from a distance, busy if you look close. Marshes are along the shoreline and also provide defense against stormy seas. The grasses and reeds help filter our pollutants in the water. Under the surface is one of my favorite foods - oysters! Also clams and young fish.

Did I really go hiking if I didn't make a Strava post?

Mostly pictures for the rest of the hike portion of this post. It's been wordy enough already.

Don't forget to look up!

We arrived made it to Long Creek where we had several choices of trail to choose from. We turned left onto Long Creek Trail (adequately named) from the Fox Run Trail. This trail continues along the creek and has a few turnoffs. The closest was Kingfisher Trail which would take us to Cape Henry Trail, the park's main (and only multi-use) trail. We would eventually finish that route.

Long Creek - First Landing State Park - Virginia Beach, VA

And more pictures of me following my dad.

Deloitte consulting!

There were so many large loblolly pines on the trails. This is one that had been cut down, and it was only about half the size of some of the largest loblollies. We counted somewhere between 125-200 rings, depending on the method used lol. There has to be some 400+ year old trees here that got to witness John Smith's First Landing.

We arrived at the Cape Henry Trail and had a 1.3 mile hike back towards the visitor center and parking lot. Being that this is the park's main trail and allows bicycles, it was more congested but not overly crowded. It was good to see so many people out, and it was great weather for hiking.

Some interesting cypress knee formations here.

One last swamp picture.

Once we returned to the car, we drove across Shore Drive to the small sliver of the park along the beach. This is where the Chesapeake Bay Center is located. And the Chesapeake Bay Center is where the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail - First Landing State Park stamp is located.....supposedly. The park ranger had no idea what I was talking about, since he's working at a Virginia state park and has only had this job for a few months. He looked around for a stamp, not knowing where it could be located. He found it on the far side of the desk area conveniently where the sign pictured below is located on the counter. We had a good laugh. The last date on the stamp was in late November so I imagine not many people come through very often to get this stamp. I stamped my book and told him about the passport book when he asked more about it.

Hurdles:

The paper black and white trail map provided for First Landing Park could use some more clarity, especially in the trail concentrated areas close to the visitor center.

Quote:

"This country is not mountainous nor yet low but such pleasant plain hills and fertile valleys... river and brooks, all running most pleasantly into a fair Bay." - Captain John Smith, 1612

Little did John Smith know about the rest of the country!!

The Mountain Lioness

History and Hiking at Cape Henry Memorial/Lighthouse and First Landing State Park