Worcester Democrat and the ledger-enterprise. (Pocomoke City, Md.) 1921-1953, 1924-12-27

and Chincoteague, the towns on the
Eastern Shore Of Virginia are few and
far between, altho' there are many viii
lagos and hamlets.
Cape Charles, named for Charles
the first of England, is the largest
town in the two counties, with a pop
ulation of about 5000. It is the
southern terminal of the New York,
Philadelphia & Norfolk Railroad, and
has railroad offices, repair shops and
other activities incidental to a rail-
road town. Contrary to popular opin-
ion, the town Of Cape Charles is not
located at the tip >of the peninsula,
near the cape, but several miles away.
All the freight and passengers car
ried by the railroad down the PENN
sula for points south are ferried from
Cape Charles across the bay to Nor
folk, a distance of about 80 miles, the
passengers in comfortable steamers
and the freight on barges. If you
have made trip by boat from Balti-
more or Washington to Norfolk, you
have probably seen these great bar
ges, each carrying several freight
cars, being towed across the mouth Of
the Bay by ocean-going tugs.
Onancock, only a few miles from
the Maryland line, is another town Of
the shopping center for a
rich farming section.
Even before the white men came,
there was town on the site, an In
dian village called Onancoke. y
Onancock was one of the 10 towns
in Virginia which We're ordered by
the General Assembly in 1880 to be
built, the order specifying that the
loading of vessels must be done at
these points and that at each point a
warehouse should be erected. AS a
proof that unless natural advantages
exist no government can legislate in
to existence towns that will endure, it
may be pointed out that on four Of
these towns have survive Norfolk,
Onancock, Urbanna, = ,ahannock
About the same time a court house
was built at Onancock and for 100
years the town remained the county
seat of Accomack.
In 1850, the court house was moved
to point about midway between sea-
side and bayside, which was more ac-
cessible to all the inhabitants of the
county. In the early days, when roads
were. poor. and travel difficult, a few
miles meant much.
A little village soon sprang up a.
round the court house and, as is often
the case in Virginia, took it's name
from it--Accomack Court House. AL
tho the last two words of the name
have since been dropped, the passing
years have not brought many changes
and there is an old-fashioned charm.
that still clings to the town. Among
other interesting things to be seen
there is an UNCOVERED debtors prison
now used for a library. i!
The towns of Onancock and Acco-
mack are only few miles apart and
to man who uses an automobile they
are practically the same thing. The
same railroad station, Tasley, serves
both and both are served by the same
telephone exchange office.
Pungoteague, village eight miles
south of Onancock, is interesting from
a historical standpoint. There is an
old Episcopal Church, st. Georges's,
built about 1916, sometimes called the
Ace fClubs Church from the fact
that it was originally built in three
wings of equal size, with the interior
Of each wing rounded. There are also
several old houses in the town, and an
old tavern. In front of the tavern is
an oak tree, and under this tree po-
litical meetings have been held for
200 years. And the tree still lives!
The first play ever produced in En-
glish America-Ye Bare and Ye Cubb
was given in Pungoteague in 1865.
The players were summoned to court
on a charge of misconduct. Lovers Of
the theater will be glad to know they
were acquitted. pp
Eastville is the county seat of
Northampton, with county records
dating back to 1882 without break.
This town also has an ancient debtors
prison and several old houses.
Washapreague is seaside town to
which flock lovers of the surf from
various parts of the peninsula. Large
seafood packing houses are located
there,
Keller is small town on the rail
road and it is famous for the fact
that in it is held every year the old